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HISTORY 



OF THE 



TOWN OF 

NEW WINDSOR 

Orange Goniity, N. Y. 



By Edward M. Ruttenber. 



NEWBURGH, N. Y. 
Printed for The Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands 

1911. 



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NEWBURGH JOURNAL PRINT. 
NEWBURGH, N. Y. 



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EDWARD M. RUTTENBPR 

AUlMOt^ OF STMNDARI) INDIAN AND 1 OCAL HISTORIES 



PREFACE 



This volume is published by The Historical Society of Newburgh Bay 
and the Highlands, from a manuscript which was given to it by Mr. Ed- 
ward M. Ruttenber, shortly before his death. 

The Society has so much faith in the accuracy of Mr. Ruttenber's 
work along historical lines that no effort has been made to amend any 
of the statements contained in the manuscript except in those few in- 
stances in which the members of the publication committee has personal 
knowledge of some facts modifying Mr. Ruttenber's statements. 

To claim that any work of history is absolutely free from inaccuracies 
would be unwise. But we feel confident that out of the multiplicity of de- 
tails set forth in the following pages few errors will be discovered. 

It is to be observed that the history is not intended to be brought up 
to the present day. It covers only the period from the earliest settle- 
ment of the Town of New Windsor to about the year 1870. 

With a deep sense of the gratitude due to Mr. Ruttenber for his pains- 
taking labors in ascertaining and perpetuating the facts connected with 
the early history of this section of the Empire State, we submit this vol- 
ume to the public with the hope that our work in editing it will not do dis- 
credit to the work of Mr. Ruttenber in gathering the materials. 

THE PUBLICATION COMMITTEE OF 
HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF NEW- 
BURGH BAY AND THE HIGHLANDS. 
February i, 1912. 




OID TOLL GATE 

FORMERLY STOOD ON NtWBURGH AND NEW WINDSOR TURNPIKE. VERY NEAR IHE 
NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE TOWN OF NEW WINDSOR^ 

l<.-|.r..,i„.-,.,t from • Plr»ur..«qii.- Amorlca," by i.i.,misBinu .,i l> \ppi.Mn„ .v^ c.iiu.am 



History of the Town of New Windsor 



CHAPTER I. 

LOCATION — PHYSIOLOGY — NAME — ROADS — SCHOOLS, ETC. 



LOCATION. 



New Windsor, originally the extreme southeastern precinct and town 
•of the county of Ulster, and, under the reorganization of the counties of 
Orange and Ulster in 1799, the central northeastern town of the county 
of Orange, is bounded on the north by the city and town of Newburgh 
and the town of Montgomery, on the west by Montgomery and Hamp- 
tonburgh, on the south by Blooming-Grove and Cornwall, and on the 
east by Hudson's river. Substantially in the same latitude, and of cor- 
responding elevation, its mean temperature may be accepted as the same 
as that of Newburgh, viz : 50 deg. 10 min. The surface of the town is 
rolling and hilly. The soil may be classed in four divisions. From the 
Hudson to Muchattoes hill it is gravelly; more immediately adjoining 
the Hudson deposits of clay underlie the sand.* The southern spur of 
Muchattoes hill as far west as Vail's Gate, is rough and covered with 
l)Oulders to an extent that makes its improvement difficult. West from 
this ridge and until within a mile of Rock Tavern, a rolling upland pre- 
vails. The extreme western part is more or less broken by slate ridges. 
There are many broad and fertile valleys, and there are also hills (so 
called locally) that are cultivated to their tops. Muchattoes hill, or 
Snake hill as it is more generally called, on its northern border, the only 
■considerable elevation in the town, rises six hundred feet above tide 
water. The creeks and streams are Murderer's or Moodna, Silver 
Stream and Beaver-dam, Goldsmith and Colemantown creeks. Quas- 
saick creek constitutes a portion of the northern boundary of the town 
and gives to it several valuable mill privileges.** Its marsh or swamp 

*'Dnft Deposits. — South of the Quassaick creek the deposits on the slate rock 
of the Hudson river group is first drift boulders, pebbles, gravel, and clay ; above 
this blue clay covered with gray clay, and above the whole sand and gravel. The 
height of these deposits is altogether about one hundred feet. The whole plateau 
adjoining the Hudson river presents a soil gravelly, sandy, clayey — a mixture 
forming a warm and fertile soil. — Geological Report. 

** Hist. Orange Co. and Newburgh, 68, 69, etc. Quassaick is Indian, signify- 
ing stony brook ; Murderer's creek is so called from a tradition which has been 
woven upon the original Dutch title of Martelaer. Its Indian name is presumed 
to have been Waoraneck. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



land is the Big Swamp in the northwest part of the town. Washington 
Lake, for many years known as Little Pond, lies midway on its northern 
border; it has an elevation of two hundred and thirty feet, and covers, 
including overflowed swamp, an area of one hundred and seven acres. 
The Newburgh water-works take its waters, as well as the waters of 
Silver Stream. The principal agricultural products are rye, wheat, corn, 
oats, hay, butter and milk ; paper and brick are the almost exclusive man- 
ufactures, although milling, cotton and woolen goods, snuflf and tobacco, 
and iron implements and glass, have at different times been prosecuted 
with more or less success. The local divisions of the town are New 
Windsor village, Moodna or Orangeville, Vail's Gate or Mortonville, 
Little Britain, the Square and Rock Tavern ; Hunting-Grove, a division 
so called in its early history, is now in Hamptonburgh. It has twelve 
school and joint school districts, and five churches. The Newburgh 
Branch of the Erie railroad, and the Newburgh and New York railroad, 
pass through the eastern part of the town. The town has an area of 
20.8/1 acres, of which about 17,500 are improved. Its population in 
1790 was 1,819; 1830, 2,310; 1865, 2,697; 1875, 2,455. 

CIVIL ORGANIZATION — NAME. 

The district of which the town now forms a part had its first local 
government under the patent to Captain John Evans, who, being vested 
with the privileges and powers pertaining to a lordship and manor, had 
authority to establish a manorial court. It is not probable, however, that 
during the continuance of his patent ( 1694 to 1699) any semblance of 
civil authority was exercised. After the vacation of his patent and with 
the advent of the Palatines at Newburgh in 1709, that portion of the 
Evans patent lying in the county of Ulster, embracing the district be- 
tween Murderer's creek and New Paltz, was organized as the Precinct 
of the Highlands, and attached to New Paltz. In this relation it remain- 
ed until 1743, when three full precincts, having all the officers of towns 
and exercising all their duties, were established by act of the colonial as- 
sembly. These precincts were known and called "by the name of the 
Wallkill Precinct, Shawangimk Precinct,* and Highland Precinct." 
The latter was more particularly described in the act as "bounded on 
the east by Hudson's river; on the south by the line dividing the coun- 
ties of Ulster and Orange; on the west by the precincts of Wallkill and 

*Shawangnnk Precinct an organization contemporary with the Precinct of the 
Hifthlands, and in its original boundaries embraced the territory covered by the 
subsequent Precinct of Wallkill and Shawangunk. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Shawangunk and the neighborhoods annexed to New Paltz, and on the 
north by the bounds or line of New Paltz town." The precinct meet- 
ings were to be held "at the house of John Humphrey, Jr., on the first 
Tuesday in April, annually, for the election of precinct officers." It con- 
tinued in existence until 1762, when it was divided into the precincts of 
Newburgh and New Windsor, "by a line beginning at the mouth of 
Ouassaick creek and running thence along the south bounds of a tract 
of land commonly called the German patent, to another tract granted 
to Alexander Baird & Co., and then along the southerly bounds of the 
last mentioned tract to the Wallkill precinct;" all the land theretofore 
comprehended "within the said Highland precinct lying to the south- 
ward of the said dividing line, to be called by the name of New Windsor 
Precinct." More clearly defined boundaries appear from those giving 
the limits of the Newburgh and Wallkill precincts, the latter being ex- 
tended on the south "to the north bounds of two thousand acres of land 
granted to Patrick Hume, by the north and west bounds of the lands 
granted to Cornelius Low aind others, and by the northwest and south- 
west bounds of two thousand acres of land granted to Phineas Macin- 
tosh." while the bounds of Newburgh extended south to Ouassaick creek 
and thence west along the south line of the Baird patent. The latter 
line has never been changed ; the western line, however, was destroyed 
by the organization of the town of Hamptonburgh in 1830. The dis- 
trict remained under the title of "precinct" until 1788, when, under the 
general law of that year, it was constituted the "town" of New Windsor, 
and its boundaries defined as follows : "All that part of the said county 
of Orange bounded easterly by the middle of Hudson's river, southerly 
by an east and west line from the mouth of Murderer's creek,* and west- 
erly and northerly by a line beginning at the west side of Hudson's river 
at the mouth of Quassaick creek, and running from thence along the 
south bounds of a tract of land commonly called German patent and the 
southerly bounds of a tract of land granted to Alexander Baird and Com- 
pany to the east bounds of two thousand acres of land granted to Cad- 
wallader Colden, and then across the same to the most northerly comer 
of the land granted to Patrick Hume, and thence along the westerly 
bounds thereof to the lands granted to Patrick McKnight. and then along 
the same southwesterly to the southerly corner thereof, and then con- 
tinuing the last mentioned line to the town of Blooming-Grove so as to 
include the lands formerly of Fletcher Matthews."** 

* The line of the county of Orange prior to 1779. 

** As above stated the Western boundary was changed by the erection oi 
Hamptonburgh. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



The name of the town is from Windsor, England, with "new" pre- 
fixed. By whom it was conferred cannot now be ascertained, but un- 
doubtedly by some one of the early settlers whose associations with the 
English government were such as to lead him to a lively remembrance 
of his royal sovereign. It has its first record in connection with the mis- 
sionary labors of the London "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
in Foreign Parts," in the annals of which it is written (1728), that "the 
Society has received many fresh applications from congregations of peo- 
ple in the Plantations to have missionaries sent to them; particularly 
from the inhabitants of New Windsor, in Ulster county;" and during" 
the following year (1729), that "the Society have received a letter from 
the Rev. Mr. Vesey, at New York, enclosing one from Francis Harrison, 
Esq., one of his Majesty's council of that Province, wherein he acquaints, 
that, pursuant to the decree of the Society, he has inquired into the num- 
ber, condition and circumstances of the inhabitants of New Windsor and 
parts adjacent, and is informed this district is twenty miles from north 
to south and sixteen from east to west, and contains about four hundred 
inhabitants ; that the chief of them live in good credit and reputation ; 
but that there is no clergyman to officiate among this large body of peo- 
ple within eighty miles distance," — from which it appears that the name 
was then applied to a specific portion of a proposed parish district. Two 
years later a minister was appointed for the parish who preached at three 
diflFerent stations within its limits, viz: New Windsor, on the Hudson; 
at what is now known as St. David's in Hamptonburgh (then Goshen) ; 
and at St. Andrews in Montgomery — 'the latter station erecting the first 
edifice (a log house with a fire-place) for divine worship.* A few 
years later the name was generally accepted as defining the southern part 
of the Precinct of Highlands, and is of record in that character in a 
report, made by Thomas Ellison in 1755, of the number of slaves there- 
in, the precise language being: "In the Southern Division of the Pre- 
cinct of New Windsor otherwise called the Highlands." In the subse- 
quent division of the precinct of the Highlands, and the erection there- 
from of the precincts of Newburgh and New Windsor, the latter assumed 
the name by which it had already become specifically recognized. 



TOWN RECORDS. 



The records of the town begin on the first Tuesday of April, 1763, 
when "agreeable to the directions of an act of the Governor, Council, 



* This building was located at the fork of the road now leading from St. An- 
drews to Shawangunk and Walden. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



and General Assembly of the province of New York — an act entitled 'an 
act for dividing the precinct of the Highlands, in Ulster county, in two 
precincts (by a line therein mentioned), one to be called by the name of 
New Windsor precinct, and the other by the name of Newburgh pre- 
cinct,' " a meeting was held at the house of Judah Harlow, for the pur- 
pose of electing precinct officers, who were chosen as follows: Joseph 
Belknap, clerk; George Harris, supervisor; Samuel Brewster, George 
Denniston, James Humphrey, assessors ; Alexander Denniston, constable 
and collector; Judah Harlow and Capt. James Clinton, overseers of the 
roads ; David Crawford and John NicoU, overseers of the poor ; Andrew 
Crawford and William Lawrence, fence viewers. 

ROADS. 

The earliest roads of the town were the King's highway, better known 
locally as the Goshen road, and the highway now known as the Little 
Britain road. The first extended through the town from north to south, 
and the second from east to west. At a later period connecting roads 
were opened from the Orangeville settlement on Murderer's creek; from 
Little Britain to Coldenham (the Ridge road), and in the village of New 
Windsor* The latter, however, were not recognized by the town au- 
thorities. In 1766 the roads of the town were defined, in the appoint- 
ment of overseers, as follows: "Moses Fowler, overseer from Mr. Falls' 
saw mill to New Windsor; George Denniston, from the west line of 
Johnson's patent to Mr. Falls' saw mill ; Thomas King, from the west 
line of Johnson's patent to the north line of the precinct ; Francis Mande- 
ville, for Goshen road and the roads about Murderer's creek." In 1769 
the road district and overseers were : "John Galloway, overseer from 
William IMulliner's to the precinct line westerly ; James Denniston, from 
William Mulliner's to the top of Snake Hill ; Theophilus Corwin, from 
the top of Snake Hill through New Windsor to Hudson's river, and up 
Goshen road as far as the road that leads off to Arthur's mill, and to 
take all the inhabitants on the north side of Murderer's creek as high 
as they are to work ; Samuel Arthur at the creek and the rest of the road 
upwards, and to take the remainder of the inhabitants left therein." 

Patrick McClaughrey, James McClaughrey and George Clinton, com- 
missioners under the act of 1770, divided the town into road districts as 
follows : 

"The first or New Windso'" District — ^bounded North by the precinct lint, 

* The road known in Newburgh records as "the Wallkill Road," running west 
of Muchattoes hill from the Little Britain road to Newburgh, is also of very early 
date, but has no specific record in the minutes of New Windsor. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



West by the top of Snake Hill, and a straight line running from thence to where 
the King's Road meets Goshen Road near the house of Timothy Wood, and South- 
erly and Easterly by the East side of said King's Road and the land of Col. Thom- 
as Ellison and the Hudson River, including in said district the road leading from 
Goshen road back of William Ellison's house to New Windsor. 

"The second or Creek District bounded as follows : To the North and West by 
the New Windsor district to where the road leading from Little Britain to the 
Creek or Brewster's Forge meets said New Windsor District; south by the county 
line where the Goshen Road crosses it; West by a straight line from thence to 
where the said road leading from Little Britain to the Creek leaves the New 
Windsor road, and Southerly and Easterly by the south of said road leading 
to New Windsor and the New Windsor district, including in said district last 
mentioned the said road leading from the New Windsor road to the creek or 
Brewster's Forge. 

"The Middle or Third District is bounded as follows : To the East by the New 
Windsor and Creek districts; Southward by the County line and Northward by 
the precinct line; Westward by a line running Northerly from the County line, 
so as to include Alexander Falls. Jr., James McClaughry, and Charles Clinton, 
Esq., and cross the road one chain West of William Mulliner's house, and includ- 
mg in said district Alexander Falls, Senr., Robert Buchanan, and the inhabitants 
north of them and to the East of the Great Meadow to the precinct line, and 
Northward by the precinct line. 

"The West or Fourth District bounded as follows : East by the Middle District, 
South by the County line and North and West by the precinct line." 

The districts desigriated were generally known an'd called, and so 
entered on the precinct record as i, The New Windsor district; 2, The 
Creek district ; 3, The Little Britain district ; 4, The Hunting-Grove dis- 
trict. In 1772, the Creek district was divided. In 1774 the Middle 
and the Hunting-Grove districts were divided and a new district called 
the Silver Stream district, established; and in 1781 the Little Britain 
district was divided and a new district established called the Stonefield 
district.* 

The roads or streets of the village of New Windsor were dedicated 
to public use by the proprietors of the plot in 1749. The dedication is 
entered in their minutes as follows : "Ebenezer Seely, Esq., shall execute 
a conveyance of the land laid out in New Windsor for roads to Vincent 
Matthews, Joseph Sackett, Hezekiah Howell, John Yelverton, and 
Thomas Jones (executor of Dr. Evan Jones) and their heirs and assigns 
forever for the purpose hereinafter mentioned, to wit: That the said land 
shall be and remain forever hereafter for the use of the inhabitants and 
settlements made at New Windsor as public streets or roads according 
as they are laid out upon a draught or plan of New Windsor." 

The Newburgh and Ntew Windsor turnpike company was incorporat- 
ed by act of legislature passed April 2d, 1806. Capital, $5,000. Charles 
Clinton, Daniel Stringham, John McAuley, George Monell, Hugh Walsh, 

*Town Records Stonefield was the residence of Rev. John Moffat, where he 
kept a grammar school. It was on this road leading from Little Britain to Wash- 
ingtonvillc, and the residence of Robert Shaw. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Isaac Hasbrouck, Selah Reeve, Joseph Morrell, Abraham Schultz, Rich- 
ard Trimble, Jonas Williams, John D. Nicoll, and Samuel Lockwood, 
were the first directors. The road extended from Newburgh to New 
Windsor village, where it connected with the Cornwall turnpike. 

The Snake Hill turnpike company was incorporated March 24, 181 5. 
Capital, $14,000. Jonathan Hasbrouck, William Taylor, Hiram Weller, 
Nathaniel DtiBois, and Jonathan Hedges, directors. 

The New Windsor and Blooming-Grove turnpike company was in- 
corporated April 3d, 1801. Capital, $7,500. Directors: John Chandler, 
Richard Goldsmith, William Adams, James Carpenter, William A. 
Thompson, Abraham Schultz, Hezekiah Howell, Johannes Decker, Jona- 
than Brooks, Jr., Thomas A. Thompson, Isaac Schultz, and John Gale, 
Jr. The line of the road was "from the village of New Windsor to the 
intersection of the Goshen and Warwick road." 

SCHOOLS. 

The first entry in regard to public schools is at the annual election in 
1796, when David Dill, John Dill, Daniel Borden, John Denniston, and 
Francis Crawford, were elected commissioners, with authority to "buy 
a book at the expense of the town" in which to make entry of school 
accounts. The same persons were reappointed in 1797, but no further 
entry appears until 1813, when, on the loth of May, at a special election, 
Joseph Morrell, Thomas King, and William Mullin-er, were elected com- 
missioners of schools, and Thurston Wood, David Dill, and Thomas 
Fulton, inspectors of schools. On the iSth September, 1814, the com- 
missioners named divided the town into nine school districts, viz: No. I, 
village of New Windsor District; No. 2, Murderer's Creek District; No. 
3, Good Hope District; No. 4, Center District; No. 5, Square District; 
No. 6, Little Britain Meeting House District; No. 7, Union District; 
No. 8, Good-Will District; No. 9, Hunting-Grove District. In 1816 
one of the districts was divided, making ten. The first report of at- 
tendance and distribution of public money is recorded as follows : Num- 
ber of children between five and fifteen years, 597; amount of public 
money, $258.75. 

There were, probably, some private schools in the town as early as 
1740. Dr. Joseph Young writes in regard to the education of his older 
brother, Thomas: "Our grandmother, Jane, was a good English scholar 
and learned us to read. As there were but few children in their new 
settlement (Little Britain), they had no schoolmaster; but my father, 
who was a tolerable arithmetician, undertook to teach him with the as- 



\o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



sistance of Cocker's Arithmetic." This was written of Thomas when 
he was six or seven years old, and as he was born in 173 1, it shows that 
there was no school at that time. He adds: "Some time after, Mr. John 
Wilson, a famous mathematician, opened a school about four miles dis- 
tant, to which the young self-taught student was sent. Mr. Wilson's 
mathematical fame soon procured him an invitation to open a school in 
New York, where he removed." Rev. John Moffat was probably Mr. 
Wilson's successor. He was the pastor of Goodwill Church from 175 1 
to 1765. The authority already quoted continues: "Fortunately there 
came a minister to the parish who was a good linguist, under whom he 
completed his Latin education." The description and the periods to 
which it refers alike point to ^Ir. Mofifat, who was the pastor of Good- 
will church from 1751 to 1765, and whose last years are known to have 
been employed as an instructor. His school was known as "Moffat's 
Academy." It was situated on the road leading from Little Britain to 
Washingtonville on the farm now (1880) owned by Robert Shaw. The 
house was one story and a half, with basement. The school was kept 
in the upper rooms, Mr. Mofifat and his family occupying the basement. 
The school was partly, if not wholly, broken up during the Revolution. 
While the probabilities favor Mr. Alofifat, we find it written in connec- 
tion with the education of James and George Clinton, that the latter 
attended a school conducted by Rev. Daniel Main, a minister from Scot- 
land. 

SUPPORT OF POOR — LICENSES. 

The support of the poor of the town was in the manner provided by 
law. The first public tax appearing on record was under the act of the 
assembly, passed December 31st, 1762, when the sum of twenty pounds 
was raised to pay expenses of previous years. In 1770, twenty shillings 
only was raised; in 1778, eighty pounds ($200) ; 1779, one hundred and 
fifty pounds; 1780, five hundred pounds ($1,250), but this amount prob- 
ably represents depreciation in currency rather than an increase in 
pauperism. In 1782 the practice of selling the support of paupers to 
the lowest bidder was introduced and followed for many years. The 
town is now included in the county system. 

Licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors have been issued since 
1796, in which year the fees received amounted to $65. In 181 5 the 
sum of $88 was received, and nine tavern and six permit or store licenses 
were granted. These figures are introduced merely as the foundation 
of comparative statistics. The local travel of half a century ago, how- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i i 



ever, required a far greater number of taverns than at the present time 
or since the introduction of railroads. 

POST OFFICES. 

The first post office in the town was at Little Britain. It was es- 
tablished May 29, 1824 — Hamilton ^lorrison, postmaster; Chas. Palmer, 
postmaster 1834. The second, the New Windsor post office, was estab- 
Hshed February 19, 1829 — Abraham Schultz, postmaster; John Hall, 
postmaster, 1834. The third, Mortonville, was established April 10, 
1850 — John D. Vail, postmaster. The fourth, Moodna, the date of es- 
tablishment not ascertained. 



, 2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER n. 

PATENTS AND FIRST SETTLEMENTS — PIONEER ERA. 

Originally covered by the patent to Ca^^t. John Evans, the district 
embraced, when it was constituted a precinct in 1762, patents and por- 
tions of patents* issued as follows: i, Patrick MacGregorie, 160 acres, 
Aug-ust 24, 1721 ; 2, William Chambers and William Southerland, 1,000 
acres, September 2, 1709; 3, Charles Huddy and Philip Brooks, 4,000 
acres (in part), February 20, 1709 — subsequently included in a grant 
to Alary Ingoldsby and her daughter Mary Pinhorn, August 12, 1720; 
4, John Haskell, 2,000 acres, April 9, 1719, and 2,000 acres, August 24, 
1721; 5, Vincent Matthews, 800 acres, June 17, 1720; 6, John Johnson, 
Jr.. 1,000 acres, February 3, 1720; 7, James Henderson, 1,184 acres (in 
part), February 12, 1722; 8, Vincent Pierce, 1,000 acres (in part), July 
21, 1 72 1 ; 9, Lewis Morris, 1,000 acres, July 21, 1721 ; 10, Andrew John- 
son, 2,000 acres, July 19, 1719; 11, Patrick Hume, 2,000 acres, Novem- 
ber 29, 1721 ; 12, CorneHus Lx)w and Company, 3,292 acres (mainly), 
March 17, 1720; 13, Richard Van Dam, 1,000 acres (in part), June 30, 
1720; 14, Phineas Mcintosh, 2,00 acres (mainly), April 9, 1719. As 
defined by the boundaries of 1801, the town included, in addition to the 
foregoing, a considerable portion of the patent to Cadwallader Col den 
(15), granted April 9, 1719.** Portions of the Low, Mcintosh, and 
other patents were cut oflf by the erection of the town of Hamptonburgh 
in 1830, but all the patents enumerated are represented in the land titles 
of the town. 

MacGregorie Patent. — In the order of settlement, the town is the old- 
est in the present county, having been begun by Colonel Patrick Mac- 
Gregorie, in 1685, on the lands subsequently embraced in the patent to 
his son, Patrick MacGregorie, and now known as Plum Point. The 
story of this first settlement has the interest of romance. Its founder 
was a native of Scotland, and a soldier of fortune. He served in the 



*PatcTits described as mainly or in part included in the precint, were divided by 
the old line of the counties of Orange and Ulster. 



■iHf 



*The original Golden patent was conveyed by Cadwallader Golden to his son, 
Cadwallader, Jr., Sept. 7, 1771. The deed particularly describes the property as 
that "whereon the said Cadwallader, the father, for many years resided commonly 
known and called Coldcngham."— Ulster Records. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 13. 



English army in France under Charles I, and on his return took part 
in the religious controversy of 1681-82. One of the results of that con- 
troversy was the emigration to America of a large number of Presby- 
terians, and among others a company of which he was the chosen leader. 
This company landed in Maryland in 1684, and from thence came to 
Perth Amboy, N. J. Ultimately Staten Island was selected as the place 
for permanent settlement, and MacGregorie petitioned for permission 
to take up lands there ; but at the instance of Governor Dongan, he re- 
moved to the Highlands, where he purchased from the Indians four 
thousand acres, for himself and his associates, the latter, so far as can 
now be ascertained, being composed of his brother-in-law, David Tos- 
hack, who boasted the title of "Laird of Minivard" ; Daniel Maskrig, a 
servant or in the employ of Yoshack, and one Collum.* After erecting 
a commodious log cabin, he mastered the Indian language, and, in com- 
pany with Toshack, established a trading post on Sloop Hill. While in 
this occupation he was appointed muster-general of the militia of the 
province ; was subsequently sent on a mission to the French Indians, by 
whom he was captured and taken to Montreal. Returning from cap- 
tivity, he took part in the Leisler revolution, and was killed in the effort 
to reduce the Leisler party, in March, 1691. He left surviving him and 
in occupation of the lands which he had purchased, his widow, Margaret, 
his sons, Hugh, John, and Patrick, and his daughters, Catharine Evans 
and Jane Lawrence. Toshack continued the trading post on Murderer's 
Creek until his death in 1689, when his affairs passed into the hands of 
his clerk, Daniel Maskrig, for settlement.** He left one son, who died 
without issue. 

*Margaret MacGregorie, widow of Patrick MacGregorie, recites in petition 
of November 23, 17 10, that jn addition to her husband and David Toshack, were 
'■twenty-five others, their families and Sundry of their servants." Capt. Evans, in 
his petition, November i, 1711, states that he "planted several families of Scots 
and Irish under annual rent," referring without doubt to the MacGregorie colony. 
Soon after the death of her husband, Mrs. MacGregorie and her son Hugh, were 
granted 1,500 acres of land near Peekskill. This tract was sold to Stephauns 
Van Cortlandt, July 13, 1696. In the deed to Van Cortlandt, the reading is "Hew 
Mac Gregor, gentleman, of New York." No doubt the founder of he family was 
of the Scotch Clan MacGrgor. Some of the members of the clan chnaged their 
names, when the clan was prosenbed in 1296, to MacGregorie and Gregory. 

**Daniel Maskrig, late servant to David Toshack, late of ye county of Orange, 
informing that ye said Toshack is deceased, and none having power to meddle 
with his estate, it is danger of being embezzled. Ordered, that the said Maskrig 
do take all ye Indian goods, and all personal estate which ye deceased died pos- 
sessed of, into his custody, and make a true inventory thereof; that he dispose of 
ye Indian goods and receive ye debts due by ye Maskrig and render a true ac- 
count of what he shall do here as in Board by ye ten of April next. — Council Min- 
utes, Dec. 3, 1689 



qA History of The Town of New Windsor. 

Meanwhile the lands which MacGregorie had purchased were in- 
cluded in a purchase made by Governor Dongan, and, after MacGreg- 
orie's death, were embraced in the patent to Captain John Evans. The 
subsequent history of the settlement is stated in a petition by Mrs. Mac- 
Gregorie, in 17 lo, who recites that her husband and her brother, David 
Toshack, "were not only the first Christians that settled and improved 
thereon, but also peaceably and quietly possessed and enjoyed the same 
during the term of their natural lives, though as yet they had no patent 
for the said lands, which happened partly by the death of your petition- 
er's brother and the public engagements of your petitioner's husband"; 
that since the death of her husband (March 19, 1691), a patent had been 
petitioned for but had not been granted; that one had been issued to 
Captain John Evans "comprehending the lands which your petitioner's 
husband and brother had taken up, purchased and truly paid for and 
settled as aforesaid, by force of which patent, in the dead of winter, he, 
the said Evans, expelled your petitioner and family from said lands, to 
the utter ruin of your petitioner and all depending on her." By the sub- 
sequent petition of Patrick MacGregorie, Jr., it would appear that Evan's 
object was to perfect his title, as he gave to the petitoner (Oct. 10, 1697), 
"and to his first wife, and to his son," a lease confirming them in the 
use and occupation during their natural lives of "all that the hill and 
land" where the petitioner lived, possession of which was threatened by 
a patent which had been issued to Charles Huddy and Philip Brooks. In 
this petition (Nov. 12, 1712), patent was asked for the lands covered by 
the lease and described as : "All that the hill and land whereon the peti- 
tioner lives, encompassed with a swamp, beginning where one Collum 
then lately lived, and so running along a swamp next the land, on the one 
side, down to Hudson's river on the other side, bounded by the said 
river; on the third side beginning at the end of said swamp and running 
to the foot of the upland till it comes to said Hudson's river, including 
the morass." It was not until the ninth of August, 1720, that the claim 
of the MacGregorie's was finally adjusted, at which time letters patent 
were issued conveying to Patrick MacGregorie, in acknowledgment of 
the purchase and occupation by his father, the Plum Point farm of one 
hundred and sixty acres ; and, in acknowledgment of the claim of David 
Toshack, a tract of five hundred acres on the north slope of Butter Hill, 



*"'Capt. Evans' grant has but one house on it, or rather a hut, where a poor 
man, Hves. and that hut built by Captain MacGregorie, a Scotchman, who was 
killed at the time of the Revolution here, and his widow said to be compelled by 
Col. Fletcher, to sell her house and land to Capt. Evans for £30 or £.35, to the 
ruin of herself and family. — Colonial History, IV. 822. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i c 



to which he became heir through the death, without issue, of Toshack's 
son, Thomas. 

At what time the MacGregorie family removed from Plum Point is 
not of record. It is only shown that from 1685 to 1720, its occupation 
by them was continuous. On the 7th October, 1734, Dr. John Nicoll, 
of New York, purchased the place from John Waldron, Cornelius Van- 
Horne, and James Livingston, who appear to have been a company en- 
gaged in the purchase and sale of patents. The title of a portion of the 
tract, including the original Nicoll homestead, erected in 1735, is now 
in the descendants of Dr. Nicoll;* the remainder was the property, at 
the time of his death, of Philip A. Verplanck. 

Chambers and Sutherland Patent — The second settlement in the town 
was that of the patent to William Chambers and William Sutherland. 
Although issued in their names, the patentees had but one-third interest 
each in the grant, it being of record that they consented, "for and in 
consideration of one equal third part of said tract." that their names 
should be made use of in obtaining the grant by Colonel Peter Matthews, 
who. by the agreement, became the owner of the remaining third. The 
lands are described in the patent as "lying in the county of Ulster, north 
of Murderer's creek, bounded north by the Widow Plettell** and Quas- 
saick creek, on the east by Hudson's river, and on the west by the hill 
Much-Hattoes." In the division of the patent (Nov. 7. 1723), Cham- 
bers was assigned lands immediately south of Quassaick creek, Mat- 
thews received the center of the plot, and Sutherland the southern part. 
The land had been previously cleared of timber, as appears by a petition 
from Chambers for an additional tract (June 17, 1720) in which he states: 
"The petitioner, with great labor and expense, hath for some years past. 
settled, cultivated and manured a small farm to the northward of Mur- 
derer's creek, upon Hudson's river; but before, the said land was grant- 
ed unto him. most of the timber that stood thereon was cut down and 
carried away for the use of the crown,*** so that he hath not a sufficient 
t[uantity for fencing and for the use of said farm ; but near to a place 
or hill called Much-Hattoes there are certain lands, mostly stony and 

*John Nicoll, son of the purchaser, came into the possesion of the lands and 
erected the homestead dwelling in 1735. The house occupied the site, or nearly so, 
of the MacGregorie cabin on Murderer's creek, east of the highway leading to 
Moodna. 

**Lot No. I of the German Patent, Newburgh. 

***\Vliile the government was directly engaged in cutting down and removi g 
ship timber from this and other patents contiguous to the Hudson, Captain E!vans 
claimed to have expended a considerable sum in the work of clearing and improv- 
ing. — Cvlonial History , V, 28J. 



J 5 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



unfit for cultivation, which he will take and pay the rents required there- 
for." 

Chambers died in 1738, and his portion of the tract passed to his 
sons, William and John. The former died without issue, and full pos- 
session passed to the latter, who obtained, in 1753, a grant of the lands 
under water extending from the lands then owned by what were known 
as the "Proprietors of New Windsor," to the Quassaick. On the 6th 
of November, 1758, he conveyed the property to Nathan Smith, "black- 
smith, of Kingston," together with a portion of the Ingoldsby patent, 
purchased by his father, William Chambers, in 1726, and also part of 
lot No. I, of the German patent, purchased by himself from William 
Brown, of Salem, Mass., in 1742. From Nathan Smith the title passed 
in part to Robert Boyd, Jr., and to George Clinton. Boyd erected a 
smithery on Quassaick creek and subsequently engaged in the manu- 
facture of guns for the revolutionary authorities. Clinton erected, im- 
mediately adjoining Boyd, a saw mill and a grist mill, and occupied the 
farm house on the premises. H'e sold to Hugh Walsh, April 26, 1790, 
and the latter conveyed the grist mill property to Isaac Schultz, July 
25th, of the same year. Retaining the remainder, Walsh erected a paper 
mill and homestead house, subsequently the farm homestead and paper 
mill of his son, John H. Walsh, and now in the possession of his chil- 
dren. The portion more immediately representing the Chambers home- 
stead house and residence of George Clinton, came into the possession 
of Captain Charles Ludlow, and is now the residence of Thomas Christie. 

The central portion of the patent (that held by Peter Matthews) was 
purchased by John Alsop (1724-5), who, in company with his brother- 
in-law, Joseph Sackett, Jr., settled on the lands immediately after, and 
erected a dwelling house and barn, and also a store-house and landing 
on the Hudson.* He sold (1749) the tract, or a considerable portion of 
it, to an association or company organized under the name of "The Pro- 
prietors of New Windsor," who founded thereon what is now known as 
the village of New Windsor, but which was then called "The Township 
of New Windsor." More particular reference to this township will be 
made hereafter. 

The southern part of the patent was mortgaged by Sutherland, then 
in possession and occupation "for many years," to John Ellison, of New 
York, November 26, 1718, to secure the payment of £160. Ellison 



♦Sackett purcha^-ed from Alsop a lot of land Ivin.s: at the foot of what was called 
"Union Street." and had there a dock and st.ve hoiise from which he sailed a sloop 
and where he proposed in 1743 to locate a ferry to Fishkill. There were several 
settlers under Alsop. one of whom, on the Haskell patent, was Robert Hoev. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 17 



made an additional loan of £140, May 7, 1721, and perfected his title 
to the property May 8, 1723, when his son, Thomas Ellison, took posses- 
sion, erected a stone mansion on the bluff overlooking the river, and a 
dock and store-house, where he conducted a mercantile and forwarding 
business which was continued by his descendants. 

Vincent Matthews Patent. — The patent to Vincent Matthews, imme- 
diately adjoining the southern portion of the Chambers and Sutherland 
patent, was purchased by Thomas Ellison on the 24th of January, 1724, 
and on which he erected, in 1754.* the stone farm-house and mill near 
Vails Gate (subsequently occupied by his son, John Ellison), now gener- 
ally known as Knox's Headquarters. 

Ingoldshy Patent. — The fourth settlement was by John or Joseph 
Gale, in 1726, on the northwest corner of the Ingoldsby patent. Yale 
sold to Thomas Ellison in 1736. William Chambers was a purchaser 
of part of the patent in 1726. James Edmonston is said to have pur- 
chased one of the lots in 1727; but his deed is not recorded, nor does 
his name appear on the tax-roll of that year. He was an early settler, 
however. The stone house, which he erected in 1754,** is still standing, 
and is associated with the annals of the town in the war of the Revolu- 
tion. Peter Post was the purchaser from George Ingoldsby, July 22, 
1730, of five hundred acres on the north bank of Murderer's creek. He 
sold to Dr. John Nicoll, April 12, 1738, leaving behind him the name of 
"Post Hill," by which one of the elevations on the tract is still known. 
The title to a considerable portion of this purchase remains in Dr. Nicoll's 
descendants. The most considerable and important of the early settle- 
ments on the patent, however, was of that portion now embraced in the 
village of Moodna, which was purchased from Mary Ingoldsby by David 
Mandeville, May i, 1728. Mandeville sold to Samued Hazzard, who. in 
company with his brother, Nathaniel Hazard, established a landing at 
Sloop Hill, erected a mill, and laid out a township plot under the name 
of Orangeville. 

Haskell Patent. — The patent granted to Colonel John Haskell*** was 
settled by himself in 1726. lie erected a log house on what was after- 

*An earlier date has been given to this building, but the contract for its erect- 
ion, recently discovered, fixes the year precisely — 1754. William Bull was the 
builder. 

' **It has been stated, but on what authority does not appear, that this house 
was erected in 1729, and that at that time it was the only house between New 
Windsor and what is now Washing^onville. 

***Erroneously prin-ted "Haskins" in Eager's Orange County. He also held one 
fifth of the Harrison patent in the town of Newburgh, but, aside from his land- 
grants has no records in Colonial History. 



jg History of The Town of New Windsor. 

wards known as the Dusenberry farm, and which is now standing on 
lands adjoining the farm late of Ezra P. Thompson, Muchattoes hill. 
To this portion of his patent he gave the name of "The Hermitage"; 
divided it into farms, and remained in occupation of his original loca- 
tion, it is said, until his death. Tradition asserts that after obtaining 
his patent, he visited England and brought back with him many kinds 
of seeds, plants and cattle, which he cultivated and raised. Evan Jones, 
surgeon, was among the early settlers on the patent, having purchased 
and occupied lot No. 3. His farm of two hundred and ninety-two acres 
was sold by Bridget Jones, John Jones, and Thomas Jones, his execu- 
tors (Dec. 2-/, 1763), to Samuel Brewster, who erected (1768) what is 
now known as the Brewster house. Henry Haskell, a son of the pat- 
entee, also had a title for a portion of the tract, under which he became 
a freeholder in 1728. John Alsop was a purchaser on the east, and sold 
to the proprietors of New Windsor (1749). the deed, being given to 
Ebenezer Seely "of Greycourt, in the precinct of Goshen." in trust for 
the proprietors, as appears by their minutes. The western part of the 
patent, or more properly speaking, the first patent to Haskell (April, 
1719), was conveyed by him to Elizabeth Stollard, June 13, 1719, who 
sold six hundred and thirty-one acres to John Crawford, weaver, Octo- 
ber i8th, 1738.* Andrew Crawford sold part of the purchase of John 
Crawford to Neil McArthur, March ist, 1763. 

Mcintosh Patent. — The first settler on the patent to Phineas Mcin- 
tosh, was John Davis, in 1724-5. Davis' deed (July 5, 1726), recites the 
sale to him of fifty acres "on which his house now stands." ** Robert 
Boyd, "blacksmith and farmer," was also an early settler. He sold to 
Nathaniel Boyd, July 12, 1759, "fifty-four acres adjoining Joseph 
Sweezy's land." Joseph Sweezy appears on' the military roll of 1738, 

*0n the military roll of the "Wall-a-Kill" district (now Montgomery) of 1738, 
are the names of James Crawford, John Crawford, William Crawford, James 
Crawford (probably son of James first mentioned), and Samuel Crawford. Whet- 
her they were all sons of James, the first mentioned, does not appear from any 
record. The late David Crawford gave his descent fiom James. John Crawford 
the second mentioned, has been identified as the settler on the Haskell patent. He 
married Sarah Barkley and had Robert I., Andrew, George, John, Israel, Nancy, 
Sarah, Ellen, Pelianna, and Ketura. James Crawford, jr., Samuel Crawford and 
Dacid Crawford, were patentees of lands in Wallkill precinct in 1761. These 
facts may aid in tracing the geneological lines of a very numerous and respectable 
family. There was still another John Crawford. He was related to the Clintons 
and settled near Albany. (See sketch of Doct. Young). 

"*The Davis house was a stone structure and is still standing. It is the third 
house from Rock tavern on the road to Washingtonville. John Davis is name 
in will of Mathew Davis, "of Hunting-Grove, Ulster County," Who died about 
174F', as appears in Abstract of Wills, at Albany in Newburgh Free Literary. 
John Davis also appears on the tax roll of the Precinct of the Highalnds in 1728. 



History of The Town of New Windsor, i^ 



and was a settler prior to that time. The Dill family were also early 
purchasers. A considerable portion of the patent passed to the hands 
-of Nathan Smith, through his wife, Susan Mcintosh, wlio established 
thereon a grist mill, a fulling mill, and a store, giving to his place the 
name of Hunting Grove. The mills are now known as Buskirk's and 
are in the town of Hamptonburgh. 

Andrew Johnston Patent. — The district known as Little Britain, of 
-which this pateiu is the center, had its first settler in John Humphrey, 
who purchased, in 1724-5. a farm lot of two hundred and fifty acres, 
being part of the Andrew Johnston patent. Peter MuUinder purchased 
.and settled on a farm of the same patent, Sept. 29, 1729. Robert Bur- 
net, of Raritan, N. J., Oct. 7, 1729, and at the same time, John Reid ; 
Charles Clinton, of Longford. Ireland, Aug. 22, 1730, and at the same 
itime Mary McClaughry (widow), John Young, Alexander Denniston, 
Andrew McDove (McDowell), and others. J6hn Humphrey took his 
•deed Dec. 6, 1731. although his land was located in 1724. The lot pur- 
■chased by Mary McClaughry was bounded west by Humphrey and north 
by lands of Betsey Mallard, widow, showing the residence there of the 
Mallard family (now written Mallard and Mailler), as early as 1730. 
Her farm was subsequently purchased by Robert Carscadden. The 
Clinton company was the most numerous body of settlers on the patent 
and in its neighborhood, but of whom it was composed cannot now be 
accurately ascertained. The journal of Clinton's voyage supplies the 
names of .\nnstrong. l?eatty, Barkey, Brooks. Denniston, Davis, Dunlap, 
Frazer, Gordon, Gray. Hamilton. Little. Mitchell. McDowell, McClaugh- 
ry. Nicholson, Oliver, Thompson, Wilson, and Young. 

Low & Co.'s Patent. — The patent to Cornelius Low and Company 
(Cornelius Low. Garret Schuyler, and John Schuyler), was divided 
among the patentees. The third held by John Schuyler passed by his 
will to his nephews. I^rant and Samuel Schuyler, and on the death of 
the latter to Brant Schuyler. The other patentees sold to Allan Jarratt, 
April 5th, 1720, a very considerable portion of their interests. Cor- 
nelius Low sold. Sept. ist, 1734, six hundred acres to John \'ance, of 
Newark, who conveyed two hundred acres to James Thompson, "lately 
of Drumecl, in the county of Longford, Ireland, but now a resident in 
Little Britain, in the county of L'lster. in the province of New York," 
by deed dated May 22d, 1738.* John Slaughter was a settler on the 
patent as early as I72r), and Thomas Shaw was a purchaser in 1726 or 
1729. John McMichael was a purchaser in 1738. William Miller, 

*Thompson was the ancestor of Dr. J. II. I'honipson of Goshen. He was a 
•neighbor to Charles Clinton in Ireland, and a member of the same church there. 



20 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



weaver, then a resident on the patent, purchased, Nov. 12, 1746, two 
hundred acres. Brant Sdhuyler sold (Aug. 22, 1744). to Charles Beat- 
ty, *two hundred acres, which the latter sold to James McClaughry, 
July 14. 174Q. Thomas King was also an early settler. By deed from 
himself and his wife, Lydia, a portion of his lands were conveyed. April 
9, 1773. 'to Capt. Robert Cross, who, in company with James Clinton, 
laid out a town'ship plot thereon to which they gave the name of Mont- 
gomery. It is not to be confused with the later village now known as 
ATontgomery. Samuel Wood, Alex. Falls, James Denniston, George 
Denniston, Isaac Moffat, James McClaughry, and Alex. Stewart, were 
owners in 1780. 

Hume** Patent. — James Gembell and John Humphrey purchased, in 
1724, three hundred acres of the patent granted to Patrick Hume, and 
divided the same equally, by agreement, April 6, 1730. Gembell sold to 
Patrick Byron, Alarch 12, 1744, and Humphrey sold to Patrick Mc- 
Claughry, Feb. 22. 1769. One-half of the remainder of the patent (850 
acres) was sold by James Lithgow, of Scotland, nephew of the patentee, 
through his attorney, Cadwallader Colden, to James Neelly, Henry Man- 
Meelly, Henry Man Neelly, William Young, and Patrick McClaughry,, 
Mch. 6, 1794, and the remaining half (850 acres) to the same parties by 
Hannah Lithgow, widow, and John Nicholas, carpenter, of Philadelpliia, 
April, 1750. June loth, 1757, William Young sold to Samuel Sly 233 
acres, now known as the Sly homestead. The Gembell and Humphrey 
portion of the patent was sold to William Te'lford***and Samuel Falls^ 
and in 1822. was owned by John Finley, Robert Burnet, Wm. IMulliner, 
and E. Keled, Sr. 

John Johnston, Jr., Patent. — This patent was transferred to Cad- 
wallader Colden on the date of its issue. **"*'* A branch of the Belknap 
family settled on it, Benjamin Belknap paying the quit rents in 1789. 
Van Dam Patent. — The patent to Richard Van Dam passed to the 

*Described in the deed as "'the Rev. Charles Beatty, of S'liammine, Penn. ' 
He was an eminent missionary, and the son of Christiana, sister to Charles Clin- 
ton. 

**Th.e patentee appears on the records as Home, Hume and Holme. Hume is 
the name on the original MSS. at Albany. 

***Major William Telford- He came from (the Shire of Galloway, North Brit- 
am. He kept a tavern before and during the Revolution on the main road. He 
died in 1815. He was captain of the "9th Company, New Windsor Precinct." Col. 
James Clinton's second regiment Ulster militia, 1775 ; re-appoimted 1778- 

****.Tan. 4, 1774, William Smith, of Newburgh sold to Thomas Nicholson, for 
£j^% southeast end of lot No. 2. of patent to John Johnston. Nicholson was first 
licutenaiit Capt. Livington's company, Col. James Livingston's battalion, Dec- 18, 
1776. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 21 



possession of Jesse Wooclhall, who settled at Blagg's Clove, in the 
present town of Blooming Grove, in 1755. He subsequently became well 
known in Orange County as colonel of the Cornwall militia during the 
Revolution, and as a rq^resentative in the State Senate from 1777 to 
1780. David Gallatian, John Moffat, and Peter Welling, and his brother 
held portions of the patent. 

Henderson Patent. — John Wandcl was an early purchaser of a por- 
tion of the Henderson patent. Davitl Edmonston was also an early pur- 
chaser; he held part of lots Xos. 3 and 4. 

Lewis Morris Patent. — Alexander Denniston, Francis Crawford, 
Thomas Cook and Wm. Denniston were owners of eight hundred acres 
of this patent in 1786. 

Satisfactory records showing first settlements on the remaining 
patents and portions of patents have not been found. They were, how- 
ever, occupied at an early period. 

From this brief recapitulation of early settlements in the precinct, it 
will be seen that few districts in the province were more densely occupied, 
sparse as was the population ; and it may be added that in few districts 
if any were the immigrants of a class that commanded more general 
respect. The upper portion of the precinct was in woodland "through 
which." remarks Cadwallader Colden. Jr., "one could not see the sun 
shine." and the honor was not witli himself alone of felling "the first 
tree" and "taking out the first stub." Tlie eastern part of the i^rccinct, 
on the contrary, was partially prepared for cultivation througli the re- 
moval, as has been already stated, of the forests by employ'vCS of the 
government for shipment to England. \\'hatever the primal condition, 
however, the years were not many before no small munber of the set- 
tlers could say : "I have made a small spot in the world, which, when I 
first entered upon it, was the habitation only of wolves, bears and other 
wild animals ; now, no unfit habitation for a civilized family. So that 
I, without vanity, take the comfort of not having been entirely useless 
in my generation." 

Long years before the commencement of the more active settlement 
of the town (1724), a road, known as the King's highway, had been 
opened, from Kingston, with branch to New Paltz, running through 
Newburgh (now Liberty Street), to Quassaick Creek, which is crossed 
west of Schultz's mill, turned west and passed through New Windsor, 
west of the village, thence to Befhlehem, and tiie Clove to the King's 
ferry at Stony Point, with a branch to Goshen. To early settlers it 



22 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



became known as the Goshen road.* The tradition may well be be- 
lieved that at least that portion of it leading to Goshen was originally^ 
the Indian trial or footpath through the district which it traversed^ 
and there is no improbability in the story that the first settlers of Goshen^ 
including the heroic Sarah Wells, landed at New Windsor and from, 
thence followed this trail to their new 'homes. Soon after settlement 
commenced a road was opened through the center of the district from 
New Windsor to Neel\i;own and Wallkill. Along and in the vicinity of 
these roads the principal settlements were made. Other roads were of 
course subsequently opened as they were required, the earliest being the 
branch road to Orangeville or Brewster's forge, the Ridge road, and 
the roads constituting the Little Britain square.** 

The dwellings of the settlers were of logs or stone; in some cases 
the former being squared or axe-hewed. Their out-buildings were of 
logs, and their church edifices but mere unfinished barracks. Traveling 
was mainly on foot or on horse-back ; wagons were few and rude, many 
of them being made with wheels cut from the end of a log ; sleighs were- 
literally sleds, the runners formed from the limbs of trees or cut from 
a plank, or taking their highest mechanical form in runners bent from 
a sapling with supporting knees worked out by a draw-knife. If there 
were those who had European implements, and the "one-horse chaise," 
now so rarely seen, except in pictures, they were few in number. The 
people were poor ; their numerous acres even being worth but a paltry- 
sum. But wealth came gradually ; in less than forty years the more 
fortunate were able to inventory of household goods, "several boxes and 
cases of china, some cases of pictures and looking-glasses, several tables 
(one a marble slab), chairs, window curtains, some ornamented china^ 
with images of Shakespeare and Milton in plaster of Paris." Silver- 
ware, and stoves, and the harpiscord, too, became known among them ;. 
and as opportunity ofl^ered they acquired negro slaves, of whom, in 1755, 
Col. Thomas Ellison owned six ; James McClaughry, one ; James Ed- 
monston, one; Doct. Evan Jones, six; Capt. Charles Clinton, two; Chris- 
tian Kartell, two; Joseph Sackett, Sr., one; Rev. John Moffat, one;: 
Francis NicoU, one; James Jackson, Jr., two; and, John Chambers, two — 
a record which is of interest also as showing the social rank of the per- 
sons named, for few there were who could own slaves, even in those 
cheap times. 



*This name appears in patent boundaries a.s early as 171Q. The term "King's- 
Hig-hway" has no other significance than that it was a public road opened as all 
public roads are. 

**See road districts in Chapter I. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



But the reclamation of the wilderness — the erection of dwellings and 
mills — the opening of roads — the establishment of schools and churches — 
the acquirement of wealth and social rank — was not the limit of their 
lives. The rugged front of war was at times on their borders, and 
every man capable of bearing arms was not only enrolled, but obliged 
to be in readiness to take the field either against the native enemies 
of civilization, or against the French. From 1756 to '58 the militia of 
the district was in the field in guarding the frontiers and on duty in other 
parts of the province. It was in these campaigns that the Clintons re- 
ceived their first lessons in arms, and, with many of their neighbors, 
became fitted for the more arduous struggle for national independence. 
Writes Thomas Ellison in 1757: "It is but too well known by the late 
numerous murders barbarously committed on our borders, that the coun- 
ty of Ulster and the north end of Orange is become the only frontier 
part of the province left unguarded and exposed to the cruel incursions 
of the Indian enemy, and the inhabitants of these parts have been 
obliged to perform very hard military duty for these two years past, in 
ranging the woods and guarding the frontiers, these two counties keep- 
ing out almost constantly from fifty to one hundred men ; sometimes by 
forced detachments, both of the militia, and at other times men in pay 
by voluntary subscriptions ; nay, often two hundred men ; which has 
been an insupportable burden on the poor people, and has driven all the 
young men out of the county. And yet all the militia of these parte 
were ordered to march to Fort Edward, while the officers had no order.*: 
to leave a detachment to guard the frontiers. So orders were given to 
the whole to march ; but one might as well have torn a man assunder 
as to compel those who lived in the very outside 'houses to leave their 
wives and children to become a sacrifice to worse than wolves. How- 
ever, the generality of them marched, and that so soon as it was possi- 
ble to get so scattered a people together. And I would say for the three 
hundred who went out of the little distressed second regiment of Ulster, 
that men never marched with more cheerfulness and resolution, and had 
not the wind failed toward the end of their passage to Albany, they 
would have been at Fort Edward a day before Fort William Henry sur- 
rendered. When the wind failed us, every man labored at the oar; 
and when we arrived at Albany, made no stay to inquire particularly 
whether we could get kettles and such necessaries at Fort Edward; we 
were told in a general way that everything was provided for us. Neith- 
er did we wait to have a wagon provided to carry our baggage, or to 
lay in our stores of wine, tea. equipage, etc., but every one, both officers 
and privates, packed their bundles on their backs, and the colonel, though 



24 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

an old man and afflicted with rheumatism, marched on foot with his 
musket on his shoulder at the head of his men, and waded through rivers 
crotch deep, and in two very hot days marched from Albany to Fort Ed- 
ward, in less time. I believe, than troops ever marched it before. Some 
of the men indeed dropped by the way, not being able to hold out, and 
in general all complained that their officers marched too hard for them. 
"When we got to the camp opposite to Fort Edward we had Lb.e melan- 
choly news of the surrender of Fort William Henry, which could not 
but effect the spirits of every one. However, for the first two days 
that we laid there, no uneasiness was discovered in the minds of the 
men, but an impatience to go forward and retake the fort at all events; 
and that this was not affectation plainly appeared when Sir William John- 
son informed them that an advanced party of the enemy lay between 
the two forts, and desired such as had courage to fight to go voluntarily 
with him to rout them. Upon which the whole camp, in less than an 
hour, got under arms and waded up to their middles in water through 
Hudson's river to Fort Edward, with all the life and courage imaginable. 
Scarce could any one be persuaded to stay in the camp 'to take care of 
what was left there, no one exajnining into the probability of success, 
but placing confidence in the judgment of the commanders. The last 
of the militia had not got well through the river before the attempt was 
thought hazardous, whereupon we were ordered back to our camp. This 
sudden change created great uneasiness in the minds of the men, who 
now soon began to complain of the intolerable hardships they suffered 
lying in camp, and the danger they were in of catching the smallpox, etc. 
But what had the greatest weight on the minds of our people and the 
most difficult to be removed, was the apprehension that 'the French might 
take the opportunity to send Indians upon the frontier settlements in 
order to 'throw the country into confusion, and thereby prevent the 
militia from marching to the as>sistance of the province, or to protect 
their wives and children at home. So that after laying five days in 
camp and hearing that the French were destroying and abandoning 
Fort William Henry, it was impossible to prevail with the men to stay 
any longer." 

Other manuscripts of official record show that the fears of these men 
were well founded. The tide of savage warfare soon rolled almost to 
their very doors ; the west side of the Wallkill was completely devastat- 
ed; ranging the woods, "and anxiety of mind which the inhabitantSi 
could not well avoid, increased by the perpetual lamentations of the 
women and children," partially draws aside the veil of the past and 
permits an imperfect vision of pioneer life in its most rugged aspect. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 25 



CHAPTER HI. 



THE VILLAGE OF NEW WINDSOR. 



The village of New W'iiuLsor was laid out as a township plot in 1749, 
by a company under the title of "'The Proprietors of New Windsor," and 
was one of four township plots similarly opened for settlement in the 
present county of Orange, viz: Goshen, in 1714; Newburgh ( Ol-d Town 
of Newburgh plot*), in 1730; Xcw Windsor, in 1749; and Chester, at 
about 1750.** The precise date of the organization of the company 
does not appear, nor are its articles of association recorded, if such were 
entered into.*** The first entry in its original book of minutes is under 
date of September 9, 1749, at which time the members of the company 
were \'incent Matthews, Ebenezer Seely, Michael Jackson, Joseph Sack- 
cn, Jr.. Daniel Everett. Hezekiah Howell. John Sackett, David Marvin, 
Evan Jones, and Brant Schuyler, who had, prior to that date, purchased 
from John Alsop. that portion of the patent to Chambers and Sutherland 
held (under the partition of that patent) by Col. Peter Matthews. 

Immediately after organizing, the proprietors employed Colonel 
Charles Clinton as clerk and surveyor, who surveyed and made a map 
of the plot, divided it into lots and streets, and rendered the following 
accounts : 

28 days surveying a" 15s per day • • £ 21 00 

Drawing deed from Mr. Alsop to Mr. Sceley i 00 o 

Another deed from Mi. Alsop (not signed) to Mr. Seeley i 10 

A Declaration of Trii^t from Mr. Seeley to Proprietors i 00 

Eight d?ys of partition with maps 16 00 o 

40 ID O 

Mr. Ebcne/cr Seeley jmnor's. account for entertaining the Sur- 
veyor. Chainbearers, maikers. and the Trustee apiwinted to at- 
tend the survey, as also tho expenses one time when the Pro- 
prietors met ....•••■.. " or 7 

Mr. Sceley's son. rhair.:rjj. 19 days at 3s 2 17 o 

David Marvin, chairiing. i'. davs • • 2 17 



*Not the Glebe plot, wliicli was settled by the Palatines in 1709, but a plot now 
lying between First Street and Broadway (Wesitem .\venue)- 

■^"The statement in several Gazetteers that New Windsor is the oldest village in 
the State is erroneous. 

***The compTny apparently purcliased the site, paid expenses of deeds, surveys, 
<'tc., and when lots were sold divided the proceeds. 



2 6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Joseph Sackett's servant Tom. 23 days marking trees and setting 

posts in the corner of the lots, at 3s 3 09 o- 

Dr. Jones' act: 24 days attending himself, at 8s. ........ 9 12 O' 

A hand of his : 9 days marking and setting posts i 07 o 

boarding one hand 2 weeks at 5s o 10 

By cash to the Collector o 04 1V2 

By a large skin of Parchment for the original deed o 03 

Col. Mathews pnid to the chain-bearers o 06 

Total of the charges. ... . £ 68 16 8^,^ 

The first sale by the proprietors was to Henry Brewster and Judah. 
Harlow, in September, 1749, of a store-bouse, dwelling house, barn, and. 
lot. In 1752, the proprietors obtained a patent for the soil under water 
adjoining- the township plot, uniting for that purpose with John Cham- 
bers,* and also established a ferry to Fishkill. The proprietors, in Janu- 
ary, 1 75 1 -'2, were James Tuthill, Henry Brewster, Samuel Brewster,/'^ 
Brant Schuyler, Evan Jones, John Yelverton, Hezekiah Howell, Joseph 
Sackett, Jr.. Ebenezer Seely, Vincent Matthews, and John Nelson, who 
executed (Jan. 3d) a deed to Samuel Bayard and Company for twelve 
lots, "at low rates and under value, to encourage the said Samuel Bayard 
r.nd Company for .he building and erecting a glass hous> fo:" :n king- 
glass and potash, which the said Bayard and Company have agreed to 
erect upon the said lots." In July of the same year, the proprietors were 
Vincent Matthews, Ebenezer Seely. John Yelverton. Hezekiah Howell, 
John Sackett. Brant Schuyler. Henry Brewster, Evan Jones, James 
Tuthill, Joseph Sackett, Paul Richards, Nathan Smith, and Christian 
Hertell, from which it appears that purchasers of lots became, to the ex- 
tent of contributing to the obtaining of the land under water and the 
opening of roads, members of the Association. In 1772, James Clinton,. 
Robert Boyd, Jr., Theophilus Corwin. George Clinton, David Holliday, 
and James Dunlap. appear in the list, in which year James Clinton was 
elected clerk of the township. At this point the record ceases ; it con- 
clusively establishes the date, however, of the founding of the village, 
the grants of soil under water, and the establishment of the manufacture 
of glass, an industry then in its infancy in the provinces of America. 
The village, already a commercial center of some importance, increased 
rapidly in population, and until after the close of the Revolution gave 
promise of becoming one of the first cities on the Hudson. Its business 



*This patent covered the land under water from Quassaick creek to the South 
line of the township plot, the Northern part being confined to John Chambers, 
immediately south of die plot, Thomas Eilison iheld the gnamt oi the same 
franchise. The entire river front of the town was thus taken up, except a small, 
section of Plum Point. 



History of The Town of Xew Windsor. 2T 



enterprises and the causes of its decline are more specifically noticed in 
the following sketches : 

Glass Works. — The manufacture of glass was commenced in the vil- 
lage of New Windsor sometime about 1753. by a company of which 
Giristian Hertell, Samuel Bayard, Lodwick Bamper. and Mathias Earnest 
were members, the first named being the resident manager. The follow- 
ing agreement recites the purchase of lots for the purpose and other 
matters connected with it : 

"Memorandum that we, the subscribers, have this third day of Januar>-, 175 1-2,. 
agreed with Vincent Matthews, who acts in behalf of Samuel Bayard, in New 
York, for a parcel of lots lying and being at New Windsor, being part of the 
lands we purchased from John Alsop at New York, in the following majmer, 
that is to say: We, the said subscribers, do agree to sell the following lots with, 
the prices thereunto annexed, viz : 

James Tuthill, lots 21 and 58, for £0 9 o o 

Henry Brewster to Brant Schuyler, lots 22 and 59 o 7 o o 

Evan Jones, lots 22, and 56 o 7 o o 

John Yelverton, lot 57 o 3 o o 

Hezekiah Howell, lot 43 o 2 o 

Joseph Sackett, lot 71 3 o o 

Ebenezer Seeley, lot 68 o 3 o 

Vincent Matthews, lot 69 o 3 o 

John Nelson, lot 70 o 3 o 

4000 

"Provided, nevertheless, that as the chief reason for selling the above lots at 
such a low rate and under value, is upon this account, viz : To encourage the said 
Samuel Bayard & Company for the building and erecting a glass-house for making 
of glass and potash, which the said Bayard & Company have agreed to erect upon 
some of the above said lots; but in case the said Bayard & Company should fail, 
and throw up, and not build the said works, then and in such case the above agree- 
ment to be void and the lots to remain to the above owners ; and w-e, the above 
owners and subscribers, do hereby acknowledge to have received from the above 
Samuel Bayard, by the hands of Vincent Matthews, the full one equal half part 
of the above mentioned sum of forty pounds, being half of the above purchase 
money, and we do promise and agree to execute, each for himself and for his 
heirs, good and lawful deeds to the said Samuel Bayard & Company, each for his 
S'hare or part of the above lots, upon the said Samuel Bayard's paying the rest or 
the other half of the above purchase money — which said half is to be paid on or 
before the twenty-tifth day of March next ensuing the date hereof — which said 
deeds are to be at the proper cost and charge of the said Bayard & Company. 

"In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands the day and year tirst 
above written. 

"(Signature of Proprietors above named.) 

"Signed in the presence of us, Fletcher Matthews, Thos. Jones. 

"Be it remembered. That I, Christian Hertell, in company with the within 
Samuel Barard, Lodwick Bamper, and Mathias Earnest, did agree to the written 
purchase made by Vincent Mathews, with the within Proprietors of New Wind- 
sor; and do agree for myself and the rest of the company to fultrll the said' agree- 
ment; and if we fail of building the said glass-house and quit it, then and in such 
case to release all the said lots back again to the owmers thereof upon their re- 
turning the purchase money back to me and Company again, or to any of us, as 
witness my hand this first day of April, 1752. 

"C. R. HERTELL & COMPANY. 

"Signed and acknowledged and delivered in presence of us, Ebenezer Seely, Jr., 
Judah Harlow.' 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



The works were conducted for a number of years — it is said until 
after the war of the Revokition. A second undertaking of the kind was 
commenced in 1867, by a company of gentlemen, principally residents 
■of Newburgh, who regarded the peculiar stone of Butter-hill as a super- 
ior material for glass ware, but the experiment failed. The ordinary 
sand glass was subsequently made for a few years. 

Commercial Records. — Commercial trade on the Hudson, in colonial 
times, was essentially different from that of the present day. In its earl- 
iest stages, sloops and scows were loaded with goods and made coasting 
trips, stopping perhaps at different points with more or less regularity 
and selling goods directly to the immigrant settlers, or supplying trading 
posts similar to that established by MacGregorie and Toshack at Sloop- 
Tiill. It was in business of this character that John Ellison, the progeni- 
tor of the New Windsor family of that name, was engaged in New York, 
where he owned, at the foot of Little Queen street, at an early date, 
one of the four wharves on the west side of the city, a store-house and 
several sloops. His sloops were of course ready to convey immigrants 
and their household effects to their new homes along the river, for such 
was the mode of transit, and after they were located, to make them 
periodical visits with supplies. For the accommodation of themselves 
as well as the traders, it was not uncommon for the settlers to unite in 
•erecting a store-'house (not unfrequently called an "Union store-house), 
in which the products which they wished to send to market were placed 
for shipment, as well as the goods which they had purchased, awaiting 
convenience for removal. Indeed a common store-house on the Hudson, 
either as an individual undertaking or an associated enterprise, was a 
-necessity for every settlement ; the record of their existence at Newburgh, 
New Windsor, and other points, as early as 1730, is complete. New 
Windsor thus became one of Ellison's trading posts ; there he supplied 
goods to Chambers and Sutherland, and others, and there he subse- 
quently obtained landed interests. On his death, his sons, John and 
Thomas, continued his business, the latter entering into possession of 
the New Windsor estate, and through himself and his descendants main- 
tained connection with the New York house for nearly a century. 

The Ellisons however, were not alone in commercial venture at New 
Windsor. Joseph Sackett, Jr., a merchant and trader in New York, and 
his brother-in-law, John Alsop, bought land there at about the time of 
the Ellison jj'.irc'-'asL. on which Alsop settled, and the minute< of the Pro- 
prietors show that on the lands which they acquired from Alsop had been 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



29> 



previously erected a house, store-house and barn.* It is also of record 
that Sackett was the owner, in 1742, of a wharf and store-house adjoin- 
ing Ellison's on the north, and that it was subsequently merged in the 
sale to the Proprietors. This wharf was at the foot of Union street, and 
was subsequently occupied at different periods by Matthew DuBois, Jr., 
William Jackson, and Isaac and Abraham Schultz,** the latter extending 
it to the channel of the Hudson and constructing the store-house which 
in more recent years has stood in decaying solitude on its terminus. The 
business of the Ellisons, however, was for many years far in excess of 
that of their contemporaries ; their books show the names of the ances- 
tors of nearly aH of the old families of northern Orange and southern 
Ulster, who found in them not only their tradesmen, but their bankers. 
In later years, and until his death, the business of Abraham Schultz was 
by no means inconsiderable, and had it fallen to equally vigorous suc- 
cessors, would have occupied in the near past a not less extended record. 
It should not be understood that the commerce of Xew Windsor was 
confined to the firms which have been named. There were others. The 
limited advertising record shows that in 1793, Gillespy & Scudder (John 
Gillespy*** and William Scudder), conducted the freighting business 
there. In 1794, Isaac Schultz & Son and Joseph IMorrell sailed the sloop 
Sally, Ichabod Lockwood master, and the sloop, Susan, Jacob Wood 
master. In 1799, Abraham Schultz sailed "the commodious new sloop, 
Fanny," of which he was also the master. In 1803 and '4, he sailed two 
sloops, the Mary, Ichabod Lockwood master, and the Fanny, Samuel M. 
Logan master; in 1806 the sloop Mary, William Walsh master, and the 
sloop Industry, Reuben Reynolds master; in i8ii-'i6, the sloop Superior, 
William Feet master, and the sloop Perseverance. Thos. Sayre master, 
and the same vessels and masters until 1825. He died in 1830. The 
Ellison line was continued by Ellison & Floyd (William Ellison and 
Samuel Floyd), in 1804; they sailed the sloop Harriet, Jonathan Brown 
master, and the sloop Minerva. Reuben Reynolds master; in i8o7-'io, 
the sloops Harriet and Attentive. Thomas Ellison (2d) and Samuel 

* The first stor^e-house at Xewburgh was erected by the proprietors of the 
Township of Newburgh (more generally known as the "Old Town of Newburgh 
Plot"), in 1730. as appears by deed of partition executed by Phin«as Macintosh 
and John Yalverton, April 3d, of that year. It is presumed that it was under 
similar circumstances that the "Union dock," in New Windsor, received its name. 

** Matthew DuBois united with Thomias Ellison, in 1765, in resisting the order 
of the officers of customs requiring all sloops trading on the Hudson to enter 
and clear at Albany or Xew York. He died in Xewburgh in 1799. aged 75 years. 
Jackson occupied the wharf at the outbreak of the Revolution, and Isaac Schultz 
immediately after the war. 

*** Gillespy at that time owned twenty-four of the town lots, besides his resi- 
dence on Union Street. 



^o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Moffat continued the line in i8ii-'i2, sailing the sloop Attentive, Samuel 
M. Logan master, and the sloop Envoy, Nathan H. Say re master. Of 
other more recent lines was the sloop Goliah, by Joseph Morrell, from 
•the Schultz dock in 1800, and Morrell & Walsh (Joseph Morrell and 
William Walsh), sloop Goshen, in 1804. The sloop Hopewell formed 
another line in 1802 — Daniel Borden master and owner. Among the 
more recent firms was Knapp, Dolson & Co., who sailed the steamer 
Norfolk, Capt. Jacob Wandell, and the sloop Spy, Captain Geo. L. Sher- 
wood, in 1832. The barge Experiment, built as a steamboat at New 
Windsor in 1828, for the Cornwall trade, subsequently sailed from New 
Windsor under command of Capt. D}Tr Brewster. The freighting 
business vv^s continued by different parties until after the opening of 
the Erie railroad. The latest advertised enterprise (1850) was that of 
Joseph Carpenter, who sailed the steamboat Norfolk, Capt. Lewis O. Car- 
penter, every Monday and Thursday. 

Although the commerce of the place was continued with more or less 
activity until the death of Thomas Ellison (2d) in 1830, and of Abra- 
liam Schultz, in 1835, its decadence, as well as that of the village, began 
at about the commencement of the century. At that time its population 
was nearly equal to that of Newburgh, although the latter had a much 
larger acreage.* Contributing to its decline and ultimate discontinuance 
were several causes, among which may be mentioned the active rivalry 
•of the village of Newburgh, the advantages which its property holders 
offered to settlers, the superiority of the river front for commercial pur- 
poses, and the efforts of the people generally of that place to improve 
their trade by the construction of turnpike roads. An examination of 
the maps of that period will show that prior to the opening of the New- 
burgh and Cochecton turnpike, New Windsor had the advantage in roads 
and in the lines of communication between the eastern and western parts 
of the county, as well as in what would now be termed the through travel 
iDetween the eastern states and the west. The construction of the Co- 
checton turnpike and its western connections changed all this, and chang- 
ed it so seriously that the old ferry from New Windsor was discon- 
tinued in 1 81 2, and most of the mechanical and trading population of 
the place removed to Newburgh. Its fatal misfortune, however, was 
in the previous folly of its landowners, who made the rivalry of con- 
temporary communities possible. The river front, capable as it was and 



♦Population, 1782 — New Windsor, 1,132; Newburgh, 1,487. 1790 — New Wind- 
sor, 1,819; Newburgh, 2,365. 1800— New Windsor, 2,001; Newburgh, 3,258. 
1810— New Windsor, 2,331; Newburgh, 4,627. 1820 — New Windsor, 2,425; New- 
"burgh, 5,812. 1855 — New Windsor, 2,554; Newburgth, 12,773. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



as it still is, of improvement, was held by one or two individuals, who 
were thereby enabled to control the destiny of the entire community. 
They 'had the trade, they had the roads, they had the wealth, why should 
they permit competition or encourage development? They did not; 
.they chained up the river front with paper deed, denied accommodation 
to competing business, and dried up the springs of action which impel 
communities to undertakings in which mutual prosperity is involved. 
From their presence enterprise and the enterprising fled away. True 
it is now as true it was when Goldsmith penned it — 

"111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth occumulales, and men decay." 

Beyond the product of brick, for the manufacture of which there 
are six establishments, the village of New Windsor has now no com- 
mercial business except that which finds it way by the Erie road and the 
Newburgh barges. The prosperous city which, under proper develop- 
ment, might have resulted from its founding, remains a city "neither 
perfected or inchoate." 

General Business. — The early business men of the village, aside from 
those engaged in freighting, have very imperfect record. Capt. Jonathan 
Lawrence kept store there in 1776. Abraham Van Deursen "opened a 
house of entertainment, at the sign of the Confederation," in 1782. Sub- 
sequently removed to Newburgh, where his daughter married Joseph 
Hoffman. William Scudder* opened a land office in July, 1793. Ben- 
jamin S. Hoyt, "practitioner of physic and surgery," sold medicines in 
1798. Matthew C. Lyon was a physician prior to that time; he died in 
1798. Richard Edgerton sold dry goods and groceries, and carried on 
the shoe-making business. Sanford & Fitch sold dry goods, iron mong- 
ery, crockery, etc. Isaac Schultz & Son. dry goods, groceries and gen- 
eral merchandise; William Ward carried on the silversmith business "a 
few rods south of the ferry." The advertisements of these gentlemen 
appear in the Nezv IVindsor Gazette, a weekly newspaper, the publica- 
tion of which was commenced by Jacob Schultz, Nov. 10, lycfy* It is 
presumed that all branches of business common to the times were prose- 
cuted there with more or kss success down to the commencement of 
the present century. 

New IVindsor Ferry. — All traditions agree that at the village of New 
Windsor a ferry was maintained to Fishkill at a very early period. 

*This paper was continued until 1799, when it was removed to Newburgh and 
its title changed to Orange County Gazette. David Denniston subsequently pur- 
•chased it. — Hist. Newburgh, 346. 



^2 History of The Town of New Windsor, 



There is no evidence, however, of a chartered privilege there, as at New- 
burgh. In 1742, April 12, Joseph Sackett, Jr., of New York, represent- 
ing himself as "seized in fee of and in a small piece of land at a place 
called New Windsor, in the county of Ulster, lying on the west side of 
Hudson's river and contiguous thereto, between the land of John Alsop 
on the north and of Thomas Ellison on the south," petitioned for a 
"grant of the sole liberty of having a ferry, at any convenient place 
within the distance of five miles on each side of his said land, with priv- 
ilege of landing on the opposite shore."* In the minutes of the pro- 
ceedings of the Proprietors of New Windsor, Feb. 12, 1755, it is writ- 
ten : "A letter was directed to be sent to Vincent Matthews, asking 
him to prepare a petition to his Honor the Lieut. Governor, for a char- 
ter for a public ferry for the benefit of the proprietors of the said town- 
ship of New Windsor." A still later petition is on file at Albany, dated 
Nov. 23d. 1762, signed by Matthew DuBois, Jr., praying "a grant of 
the exclusive right of ferriage, on the east side of Hudson's river, for 
the distance of one hundred and sixty chains (two miles) to the south- 
ward of an east line across the said river from the north side of Quas- 
saick creek, for the purpose of establishing a ferry across said river." 

There is no record that any of these petitions were granted, or that 
that referred to in the minutes of the petitioners was even presented^ 
but that there was an established ferry there is certain. Morgan and his 
famed rifle corps passed over the river on its boats in July, 1775, on 
their march to join Washington at Boston. At that time it was owned 
by Martin Wiltsie of Fishkill and Daniel Carpenter of New Windsor, 
and ran from what was long known as the Lower Landing at Fishkill 
(more recently Lomas' brickyard) to New Windsor, or to Newburgh, 
if required by passengers. It is said that it was a chartered ferry, but 
if so the grant is not recorded.** Its history is more or less connected 
with that of the Colden or Newburgh ferry and of the Continental ferry. 
The former was chartered in 1743, and gave to Colden the exclusive 
right to convey passengers from Newburgh to Fishkill, but conveyed 
no ferriage right from Fishkill ; the latter was established by authority 
of the Quartermaster General of the Continental army for communica- 
tion between the encampment at Fishkill and Newburgh. It ran from 
the Upper Landing at Fishkill to the foot of Third street at Newburgh. 
It was discontinued in 1782. Whether the boats which it employed were 



*Land Papers, Vol. XIII, 117. 

**The absence from Hhe record of grants oi this character is not conclusive 
evidence that no charters were issued, as it is known that all grants are not to be 
found on file at Albany. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



33 



taken from the Colden ferry or otherwise suppHed does not appear, but 
its discontinuance was the occasion of the estaWishment, by Peter Bo- 
gardus, of Fishkill, and John Anderson and James Denton, of New- 
burgh, of a new ferry, which was announced by advertisement as "a 
private ferry at Fishkill and Newburgh Landings, where the public ferry 
was formerly kept" — i. e. from the Upper Landing at Fishkill to the 
foot of Third street, Newburgh. Wiltsie and Carpenter replied to this 
advertisement that its language implied that their ferry "was no more," 
whereas, on the contrary, their ferry "being opposite to New Windsor," 
was "the most convenient for travelers," and added: "We have furnish- 
ed ourselves with excellent new Peltyangers for the purpose. We have 
now larger scows building with great expedition, for transporting load- 
ed wagons. All such as chuse to cross at this ferry can do so at the 
prices set forth underneath, which are as cheap as at other ferries. For 
a footman, one shilling; man and horse, two shillings; two horse wagon, 
nine shillings ; loaded do. twelve shillings ; riding chair, six shillings ; 
four horse wagon, fourteen shillings ; loaded do, one pound ; phaeton 
and pair, twelve shillings ; ton of iron, eight shillings ; hogshead of rum, 
five shillings."* 

The Wiltsie and Carpenter ferry was consolidated with the New- 
burgh Ferry in 1805 — a fate, it may be remarked, which some years 
later overtook the Bogardus and x\nderson ferry, as well as the ferry 
which was subsequently established by John Peter DeWint. from the. 
Fishkill long wharf to the foot of Fourth street at Newburgh.** Prior 
to its consolidation with the Newburgh ferry, however, Abraham Schultz 
established a ferry from New Windsor to Fishkill, announcing, in 1800, 
that he had "provided a complete new ferry boat" which would "ply con- 
tinually between New Windsor and Fishkill Landing," and that he in- 
tended "to pay particular attention to the business." It is said that this 
ferry was discontinued in 1812, but this is presumed to be an error. No 
ferry has been maintained, however, for a number of years. 

Mr. William H. Bartley, w^o spent a half century of his life in boat- 
ing on the Hudson, states that his brother, Jacob Bartley, was in the em- 
ploy of Wiltse and Carpenter for a number of years as their ferryman 
at New Windsor, sailing a pirogue from the dock immediately north of 
the Schultz dock to the Lower Fishkill Landing. On the Fishkill side 

* Fishkill Packett, July 18, 1782. 

** The existence of so many ferries between Newburgh and Fishkill is per- 
haps contrary to the generally received opinion that the exclusive grant to Colden 
in 1743 was valid forever. No attempt was ever made to test the force of the 
Colden charter against any of the rival ferries, although the latter were in com- 
petition with it for over forty years. 



34 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

the ferryman was Crom. Wiltse, a slave owned by Martin Wiltse, who 
also sailed a pirogue.* These vessels, and two or more row-boats, con- 
stituted the ferry appointments. At the landing on the Fishkill side, 
Wiltse had a large store-house and other accommodations, and sailed 
from thence to New York a line of sloops. The store-house was burned 
some years ago. The boats landed passengers at Newburgh whenever 
it was desired ; indeed a very considerable traffic was carried on be- 
tween Newburgh and Fishkill. 

Famous Buildings. — The headquarters of Washington at the old 
Thomas Ellison house, immediately south of the bounds of the old vil- 
lage, is referred to in another place. Aside from this there are no other 
buildings historically remarkable except that known as the birth-place 
of DeWitt Clinton. Notwithstanding all that has been written to the 
contrary, we have little doubt that 'he was born here, and not in Deerpark 
or in Little Britain. Charles Clinton, of Little Britain, who was the 
clerk of the "proprietors," erected in the village a house, barn, etc., 
sometime about 1760. He transferred his clerkship to his son, James, the 
father of DeWitt, in 1762, and in 1773, sold and transferred to him the 
property. James married Mary DeWitt, of Deerpark, and her first child, 
Alexander, was bom there in 1765. In the spring of 1766, he com- 
menced "housekeeping" in his house in New Windsor village, and there 
his son Charles was born in 1767, and his son Dewitt, in 1769. After 
the death of his father in 1773, James removed to the homestead in Little 
Britain, and remained there during the Revolution. The only question 
at issue we believe to be whether James resided in New Windsor village, 
and tlhat is apparently settled by letters from his father, dated at Little 
Britain and addressed to Capt. James Clinton at New Windsor, covering 
the date of De Witt's birth, and by the facts stated in regard to the house 
and the business in which James was engaged. During the Revolution 
the house was occupied, at least a part of the time, as a hospital. It 
stands on the west side of the road near the foot of New Windsor hill, 
and although it has been repaired and changed somewhat, has still the 
original frame work of its first construction. 

Presbyterian Church mid Cemetery. — The only church in the village 
— tJhe New Windsor Presbyterian church — was organized Sept. 14, 1764. 
Its history is given elsewhere. Attached to it is a cemetery, in which 
repose the remains of many of the early residents, not only of the village 
but of the surrounding district. 



* A periauger was the old Spanish pirogue which found its way to the Hudson 
with the Dutch. It was pointed at both ends, had two masts, but no bowsprit. 
When horses and carriages were to be loaded they were detached and lifted into 
the boat or driven over wide gang-planks. 



History of The Town of New Windsou. 35 



CHAPTER IV. 



LITTLE BRITAIN. 

The boundaries of the district known as Little Britain have never 
Ibeen very accurately defined. Not unlike ancient New Windsor, which 
is said to have extended twenty miles on the Hudson, when it was but 
little more than two, it has been written that Little Britain embraced the 
.entire country bounded east by the village of New Windsor, west by 
Montgomery, north by Newburgh, and south by Blooming-Grove, includ- 
ing part of the latter, as well as of Montgomery and Hamptonburgh 
.as now constituted. These traditional boundaries are not without proba- 
bility, if they are considered as representing the radius of the settlements 
more or less intimately associated with those made on the patent to 
Andrew Johnston, but the latter must be accepted as not only the center 
of the district, but the seat of the name. This patent lies west of the 
Little Britain church. The main road, leading from New Windsor to 
Goshen, runs nearly through the center of it. Beginning at Che church, 
it extends west to the road that leads to the fann now owned by James 
Getty (opposite the residence of Joseph B. Burnet). On the south it 
is bounded by the south lines of the farm late of John S. Bull, and the 
farm now owned by Peter and George Welling. The north lines of the 
farms late of Joseph H. Howell, Jarvis Knap, and the heirs of John R. 
Scott, form its north boundary. It is one 'hundred chains in width and 
two hundred chains in length, and is supposed to contain two thousand 
acres. Its north and south lii:es now run about iiurih twciUy-two degrees 
jeast. * The patentee ran a division line through the center of the 
patient, north and south and sold it in lots or farms to different persons. 
The first purchaser and settler on the patent was John Humphrey, 
who located on the north part west of the division line, on the farm late 
■of Joseph H. Howell, in the year 1724. The next purchaser was Peter 
Mullinder (as the name was then spelled) in 1729, whose farm-lot of 
250 acres adjoined Humphrey on the south. Mullinder was an English- 
man by birth, and is said to have been connected with the nobility of his 

* The boundaries of the patent, and many of the points of its histon- herein 
stated, have been furnished for this work by Joseph B. Burnet, Esq., aji accurate 
■surveyor and for many years supervisor of the town. 



36 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



native country. He came to New York as an attache of Gov. Cornbury.. 
With warm affection for his birth-place he named his settlement Little 
Britain, and from him and his farm the title was accepted, and extended 
not only to the patent, but to the district. It will be admitted, of course,, 
that the honor of conferring the name has been given to Charles Clin- 
ton ; but without authority ; on the contrary, Clinton was the last man 
who had regard for Britain in any of its aspects. He was of Irish birth 
and an exile, and had he had a name to bestow would not have selected 
one so suggestive of many of his misfortunes. It may be added here, 
that the habit of ascribing credit to Clinton to the sacrifice of his neigh- 
bors and of truth, has been altogether too common. He was an excel- 
lent citizen, perhaps of better education than his contemporaries, and 
certainly more eminent than any of them through his descendants, but it 
is yet to be ascertained that he contributed more than his share to plant- 
ing and development of Little Britain. But this digression anticipates. 
Robert Burnet purchased 200 acres of the patent in 1729; his farm ad- 
joined that of Peter Mullinder. John Reid, the father-in-law of Bur- 
net, purchased a farm-lot at the same time. Charles Clinton, Mrs. Mc- 
Claughry, Alexander Denniston, and John Young were next in order of 
settlement in 1731. and they found at that time the neighborhood and 
the name of Little Britain. 

Whence came the name of Little Britain, and wliat was Mullinder's 
traditional connection with the nobility? Perhaps both questions are 
answered by saying that he was probably a native of London and a resi- 
dent at birth or subsequently of Little Britain, or Bretagne street, in that 
city. Of this street Washington Irving wrote : 

"Little Britain, or Bretagne Street, was so called on account of the ancient 
residence of the dukes of Bretagne. The earls and dukes of Bretagne, who were 
English subjects, were Alan the Red, earl of Bretagne, who married Constance, 
daughter of William I. His son, Alan the Black, Stephen, his brother, who found- 
ed the abbey of St. Mary, at York. Alan, Conan le Petit, Geoffrey Plantagenet,. 
fourth son of Henry II. who married Constance, daughter of Duke Conan; their 
son was the unfortunate Arthur, Duke of Bretagne, presumptive heir to the 
crown of England, but prevented by murder, through the means of his uncle, King 
John. Ihe dukes of Bretagne, afterwards removed within the city wall, and 
ultimately to the Savoy palace, in the Strand. The mansion, it is said, stood near 
St. Botolph's Church. In this street was also the hoiise of the lords Montague, 
in the reign of James I. still known by the name of Montague Court. The earls 
of Peterborough, in the reign of Charles I., etc., also had their residence near 
St. Bartholomew's Hospital. The street has also been remarkable for booksellers. 
It appears that in 1664, no less than four hundred and sixty pamphlets were pub- 
lished in Little Britain, in the short space of four years. The booksellers have 
all fled ; for not one of the profession exists here at present." 

Mullinder was a member of the Church of England, and is said to 

have been somewhat positive in his views. A half-acre of his farm he 

set apart for the erection of an English church, and another half-acre for 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 37 

a burial ground, on the Little Britain road, west of the Little Britain 
church. The church was never erected; the burial ground contains the 
remains of many of the early settlers of the district. A school was 
added to the neighborhood in 1735 ; the building which it occupied be- 
ing also used for religious worship at occasional times. The more ac- 
tive "Dissenters" of the neighborhood united with the Bethlehem and 
the Wallkill churches; those of the Church of England with St. David's, 
in Hamptonburgh. F'resbyterianism, in some of its classifications, was 
the predominant religious element of the district, and was ultimately 
mainly consolidated in the Associate Reformed church at Little Brittam, 
although the Clintons maintained their connection with the church at 
Bethlehem. Agreeing very generally in their religious views, they were 
also remarkable for the uniformity of tJieir political convictions. The 
names of but few who were Tories or King's men in the Revolution, 
has not been preserved. 

The representative leader of the rebellion in New York, George Clm- 
ton, there found his most earnest followers. Liberty boys abounded ; 
Liberty poles were elevated; the Square was baptized with the name of 
Liberty; public records conclusively show that, in proportion to popula- 
tion, more officers and privates entered the Revolutionary service from 
Little Britain than from any other district in the state. Indeed, the dis- 
trict was intensely disloyal, and while in adjoining districts adherents 
.to the King were bold and defiant, they shrunk away from the firm grasp 
of the patriots of Little Britain. 

The Square. — By some now called Washington Square, is a part of 
Little Britain, although not completed in the town of New Windsor. 
Its name is from the fact that the public roads run in such a direction 
.as to form a diamond-shaped enclosure, as seen in the diagram, in which 
a is the road to Newburgh, b to Goshen, c to Little Britain, and d to New 
Windsor. At the outbreak of the Revolution it received the name of 
Liberty Square, a title by which it is designated on Clinton's map of the 
town in 1798. The appellation is said to have been bestowed from the 
fact that there was not living on any one of the four roads a single per- 
.son whose disloyalty was questionable. 

The rare old tales that rare old men have related of Little Britain and 
its people, ha.ve illustration from the pen of the late Hon. Edward Mc- 
■Graw, of Plymouth, Wisconsin, in the following: 

Recollections. — "^ly recollections of Little Britain, traditional and per- 
sonal, are so largely identical with the Clintons that I cannot avoid 
referring to them first in my notes. I had about completed my sixth 



■7 8 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

year when General Clinton died, but, as my parents resided only a mile 
from his residence, I had the opportunity of seeing him frequently. 
Only on one occasion, however, was his personal appearance so distinct- 
ly impressed upon my mind that it remains still in a tolerable state of 
preservation. On the occasion referred to "he and his lady came to the 
vicinity of our house in a carriage. After tying his horse he took out 
his surveying instruments, and, I had never seen any thing like them 
before, they attracted by attention very much. He observed my curios- 
ity, and was good enough to let me examine his compass. When he 
struck his staff in the earth and began to take sight over it, I thought 
it at least a very strange proceeding. Notwithstanding his kindness in 
permitting me to look at 'his instruments, he had no power of attrac- 
tion for my child-nature. Had it not been for his staff and compass, I 
would have avoided him. I fancy I can see now, in the picture of his- 
son, DeWitt, the same intellectual sterness that repelled from the father. 
He was a tall, erect old man, and according to the fashion of the day 
with old men, his hair was tied in a cue and hung down between his- 
shoulders. IMany of the old gentlemen of that day wore knee breeches^ 
but I think he wore pantaloons. His lady, who accompanied him on 
ihis occasion, appeared and was much younger than himself. She was 
still less attractive for me than the General. I feared him — I disliked 
her. I saw her very often in years after her husband's death, but the 
first impression was never obliterated. It is unnecessary, I suppose, to- 
say the lady I speak of was his second wife. She was a widow (Mrs. 
Gray) and had several children when the General married her. Of her 
children I remember only one. John Gray, who was killed by the falling 
of a tree in 1816. She is said to have had a wonderful influence over 
the General and controlled him to do her will on all occasions. Of the 
truth of this, of course, I know nothing. General Clinton had five chil- 
dren by her ; but I remember nothing of any of them save his son, James 
G. Clinton, who married a daughter of Joshua Conger, of Montgomery, 
by whom he had one son, DeWitt, who was killed in the Walker filibus- 
tering expedition in Nicaragua. Mrs. Clinton moved to Newburgh, af- 
ter the General's death and died there. From a letter from the late 
Major Chas. H. Sly (1874) I learn that one of her daughters by General 
Clinton, was named Caroline and married a Mr. Dewey; one. Letitia, 
married Dr. Bohon, of Newburgh; another, Anna, married Lieut. Ross, 
of West Point, and the fourth died unmarried. The General had four 
sons by his first wife, Mary DeWitt, and several daughters. I do not 
know anything about the latter. His sons were Alexander, who died 
while acting as private secretary for his uncle, Governor George Clin- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 30 

ton ; Charles, who was a lawyer of some repute and married a Mulliner ; 
DeWitt, the leading statesman of his time, and George, who died young, 
but not without political distinction. 

"The old Clinton homestead^ — I refer to the residence of Colonel 
Giarles Clinton, the immigrant — consisted, when I first remember it, 
of a somewhat narrow, long strip of land. On the east end of the strip 
was the fajnily residence, and also the family cemetery. The house con- 
sisted of five buildings erected at diflferent times. The first was of stone 
and rough boards and consisted of one large room, fifteen or twenty 
feet square, with two windows and a door in front, and a window and 
door in the rear. A large fire-place and chimney occupied the north 
end of the room, and an open chamber covered the whole to the roof. 
To this was added a building on the right with one door and three win- 
dows, and subsequently a kitchen was put on. Then followed an ad- 
dition to the original building on the left, two stories ; and lastly an 
addition on the extreme left. The latter was erected in 1761,* and was 
regarded as of a superior class in its day. It had a piazza on three 
sides, and was of good finish. I learn that the present owner (1874), 
Mr. Bull, has torn down all but the center building, using the latter as 
an ice house. "To what base uses may we come at last." The house 
stood a few rods west of a small creek that comes from the north, crosses 
the road and follows the valley south to the Otterkill. It was consider- 
able of a stream when the country was new, but don't amount to much 
now, I am told. East of the road and nearly opposite the old buildings, 
the land rises to quite a hill, on the highest part of which Col. Clinton 
laid out a burial plot for himself and his relatives. I am told that Col. 
James G. Clinton, in his time, had a substantial stone and mortar wall 
built around that part enclosing the Clinton family. A number of 
neighbors and friends were buried there, among others. Col. Geo. Den- 
niston and his wife, Mary (daughter of Patrick McClaughrey). Be- 
fore the fence was commenced. Col. James G. asked the relatives of 
those buried there to unite with him and extend the wall so as to en- 
close all the graves, but they refused to contribute. Nearly all the marks 
of graves on the outside of the wall have since disappeared. It was 
some years after his death that Col. Charles Clinton's resting place was 
marked by an engraved stone. Two stones in the yard, procured by the 
old Colonel, one for his sister and one for his daughter, were quaint 



* Date engraved on back of fire-place. The second building on the l-eft is said 
to have been erected in 1745. 



^o History of The Town of New Windsor. 

enough. I learn that the remains of the Qintons have recently been 
removed.* 

"The subject of DeWitt Clinton's birth-place comes up in my mind. 
He was born in 1769, at the residence of his father, General James, who 
then resided with his father, Colonel Charles. General James built the 
house where he died, on the road leading- from Newburgh to Goshen. 
Frank Mulliner now owns it. It was built about the commencement 
of the present century. My grandfather, Edward Miller, was the me- 
chanic. I am aware that the statement that DeWitt was born at the 
old homestead has been disputed in Mr. Eager's "History of Orange 
County," on the authority of Mr. Gumar, of Deerpark, who endeavors 
to make his readers believe that Mrs. Clinton left her comfortable home 
at the most inclement season of the year, and traveled over forty miles 
of the necessarily illy constructed roads of that period, including moun- 
tain passes and bridgeless streams, only two or three weeks before her 
confinement; that she was prevented from returning home, by a severe 
snow storm, until after the birth of her child, DeWitt. I have to say 
that not only do I reject the story as improbable, but assert that no such 
idle tale ever had currency in Little Britain. Many of the old people 
residing in the immediate neighborhood — ladies proverbial for their 
knowledge of all such matters — have I heard converse on the subject, 
and if so singular an occurrence was the fact, I should certainly have 
learned it. These old people always referred to the old homestead as 
the place where DeWitt was born. It is not improbable that Alexander, 
the oldest brother of DeWitt, was born in Deerpark, but in that case 
Mrs. Clinton did not travel forty miles — she had not then removed from 
Deerpark. I might give a score 'of names of the oldest residents in 
the neighborhood whom I have consulted specially on this <^ubject, and 
their uniform testimony is that DeWitt was born at the place I have 
stated. 

"The farm next west of the CUnton homestead was that on which 
General James Clinton resided at the time of his death ; and the farm 
next on the west was one to which Edward Miller and his wife, Susan 
Buchanan, had some sort of title. These were my maternal grand- 
parents.** About the time of my birth they left there and located on a 

* The remains of the Oliniton family were removed from the grounds in the 
soimmer of 1876, and deposited in Woodlawn Cemetery, by Jaines A. C. Gray, of 
New York. A substantial monument was also erected by him. 

** Edward Milier was born in Dublin, and served an apprenticeship there as 
a carpenter. He came to New Windsor before the Revolution ; was one of the 
signers of the Revolutionary pledge, and was in the battle at Fort Montgomery, 
in Col. McClaughrey's regiment, in 1777. He was a man of some refinement; he 
was a good violinist and an excellent penman. He m/arried a daughter of Robert 
Buchanan, and was the grand-father of Hon. Edward McGraw, by whom thes€ 
recollections were written. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



41 



smaller piece of land further west of the old place. There they both 
died in 1809; and during the war of 181 2, my father and mother, Thomas 
IMcGraw and Elizabeth Miller, bought the farm of the other heirs and 
lived there until 1830, when the whole family emigrated to Michigan. 
Between the death of my grand-parents and the purchase of the prop- 
erty by my parents, Thomas Gourley got possession of it, as I was told, 
by purchase ; 'he cut off all the valuable timber, but failed to pay for the 
land. West of my father's farm was one on which William Cross and 
family resided. The next occupant was Alexander Falls. West of this 
was a farm of about one hundred acres occupied by James Strachan 
and his wife. Mrs. Strachan claimed some relationship to the General 
and expected to receive the farm from him, but his will only gave her 
a life interest in it. Mrs. Clinton had the credit of changing the Gen- 
eral's intentions in the matter, but the gossips were probably mistaken. 
Mrs. Strachan was a worthy woman ; she died probably firty years ago. 
Her daughter, Mary, married James Martin, of Little Britain, and when 
I left the county he kept a tavern in an old stone building on Golden 
street, before or afterwards known as Gardner's tavern. 

"About eighty rods (I measure from memory) from General Clin- 
ton's new 'house, on the road to Newburgh, another road left the main 
highway (and does yet) and ran westward along the line of the Clinton 
property. As the Newburgh road ran a little to the west of south, the 
two roads formed a somewhat acute angle. The extreme northeast 
point of this angle was not occupied, but left open as commons. On the 
extreme end of it, the General planted a red freestone land-mark, on 
which he had cut his initials, J. C, and the passage from the Bible: 
"Cursed be he who removeth his neighbor's land-mark." This anathema 
inspired the good people of Little Britain with much caution is driving 
their teams around the corner. Although the open triangle was driven 
over every day in the year, not one blundering wheel touched the inter- 
dicted stone up to the year 1830. From my earliest recollection it was 
called the "cursed stone," and the triangle was familiarly known as the 
"cursed corner." 

"South of the open space, on the Newburgh road, a store was kept by 
Thomas McClelland; the place is still known as McClelland's corners. 
His wife was a sister to General Clinton's second wife, Mrs. Gray, and 
their house and little store and several acres of land were donated to 
them by the General. This act of generosity was charged to Mrs. Clin- 
ton's account, with more justice perhaps than her presumed interference 
in Mrs. Strachan's case. Mrs. McClelland was a quick-tempered, ner- 



42 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



vous lady. She was generally esteemed by her neighbors, and had an ex- 
cellent family. John McClelland, of Newburgh, was her son. 

"The little piece of land occupied by the McClelland family, with 
what I have described before, covers the whole Clinton tract, save one 
acre deeded to my father in trust for myself, by my grand-father, Ed- 
ward ]\Iiller, on the day of my birth, in compliment for my name, and 
half an acre on the opposite side of the road owned by Janet McNeely. 
My acre was situated on the corner of a road then running south from 
the residence of William Sly. and the road leading from the Newburgh 
and Gosihen road to the village of Montgomery. My claim to it was 
respected by General Clinton, when my grand-father removed from the 
place, and my father afterward sold it to William McDowell and gave 
me the price when I became of age. James Shaw now owns the farm 
my great-grandfather, Robert Buchanan, raised his family on, adjoining 
the old Clinton farm on the south. 

"One of my father's near neighbors was ]\Iajor William Sly. He 
was the youngest son, I think, of the Irish immigrant who settled on 
the land his son William owned when I first remember him.* He had 
brothers, Samuel and John— the latter was dead when I first remember 
anything about them. John, before his death owned the eastern portion 
of the farm his father had settled on. William owned the west end. 
The whole laid from half a mile to a mile and a half west of the New- 
burgh and Goshen road, and joined the Ginton tract on the south. 
John Sly's widow lived on the farm until I was quite a large boy. The 
family consisted of John, Letitia, Catharine, Janet, Hamilton, Rob- 
ert and William. There was another member of the family — Jen- 
ny, an old, faithful and very respectable woman, who was a slave. 
Every Sunday, when the weather was not inclement, the widow and 
family passed our house on their way to the Wallkill church, or as many 
old people called it, the Wallakill church. Like the majority of the 
farmers in those days, Mrs. Sly and her family went to church in a two- 
horse farm wagon. Herself and the driver (generally one of her sons) 
took the front seat; then the balance of the white jx^rtion of the family 
were ranged in couples on kitchen chairs, and in the rear of all, "Aunt 
Jenny," the slave. A few of the more wealthy farmers went to church 
in a two-wheeled covered carriage called a chair; but Mrs. Sly's mode 
and the manner of placing the passengers was the common way of going 
to church in the neighborhood, and may be related in connection with 
cxther families. 

"William Sly, "the Major," as he was always spoken of, was quite a 



* Samuel Sly, the father of William, bought of William Young, Tune lO, 1757. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. a^ 



leading man in the neigiiborhood. He married Nancy Barber, a member 
of another family of early immigrants, Patrick Barber. They had three 
children, Charles H., Arthur B. and Maria. The last married a Dill. 
Charles, like his father, was called "the Major." for many years before 
his death. He was in the militars^ service in the war of 1812, and his 
father was engaged in the war of the Revolution. The "old Major" was 
one of the old men of my childhood that I liked to be with, and his wife, 
Aunt Nancy, was a genial old lady. Major Sly was always active at 
public meetings, Fourth of July celebrations, etc. He was a good speak- 
er, though some accused him of an endeavor to be too ornate, and with 
using too many adjectives. 

"On the Goshen road, about eleven miles from Newburgh, was a 
tavern called the Rock Tavern, which was for many years a place of re- 
sort for the people of the surrounding district, both for local gatherings 
and public meetings. On one occasion, when it was owned by John 
Kerr, the neighbors held a Fourth of July celebration there. Kerr was 
captain of a uniformed company of artillery in the district, and as his 
tavern was selected for the celebration, his artillery company was natur- 
ally brought out and fomied a conspicuous part of the show. Major 
Sly was officer of the day. A committee of arrangements sat in the par- 
lor of the hotel on one side of a hall which opened on a stoop on the 
second story. Captain Kerr's company was drawn up on the rock in 
front of the house, with its cannon ready to assert the patriotism of its 
owners. All seemed to be anxiously waiting for some expected event, 
when Major Sly appeared on the stoop and. after waving a flag as a 
signal of attention, said : "Captain Kerr, I am ordered, sir, by the com- 
mittee of arrangements, to request you to have thirteen rounds fired from 
the democratic muzzle of your republican cannon!" The cannon im- 
mediately responded, the people huzzaed, and the Major retired as he 
came. 

"Another old man who was quite familiar with our family was John 
Kelso. He was sometimes called Captain Kelso. He once had com- 
mand of a sloop on Hudson's river. "Uncle John" was a man whom 
children avoided, not on account of any mental stateliness, but in obedi- 
ence to 'his own wish not to be "bothered with young ones." Rough as 
a native diamond, he was a diamond indeed. No man had a kinder 
heart than he, though he would accompany his acts of generosity with : 
"Here, take that, and don't bother me again!" Kelso was by birth an 
Irishman, as were nearly all of the people in the neighborhood. The 
entrance to his farm was by a private road opposite the residence of Rob- 
ert Burnet. He married Betsey Buchanan, a daughter of Robert Bu- 



44 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



chanan.* He had three children — Polly, Elkhanna, and James, a.11 now 
dead. I believe some of his descendants now reside in Walden. They 
were a noble family. 

"Another family that comes to me from the past was named Morrison, 
William and John were the old stock of that neighborhood. They were 
natives of the Emerald Isle, and succeeded in accumulating much prop- 
•erty for that day. John kept a tavern and distillery on the Goshen road 
about ten miles from Newburgh, and after him two of his sons success- 
ively continued the business.** They were leading men in the town, the 
church, and the Masonic lodge. John was a strong Federalist, and one 
of the fields on his farm was called the "Jayite field," from the fact that 
the Federal party once held a grand celebration there in honor of the 
election of John Jay to the ofifice of Governor. 

"I think I am correct in saying that the old stock of Little Britain were 
very orthodox, in the Calvanistic understanding of that word. They 
were also very intolerant. The Westminster catechism was taught in 
the public school that I attended, to the exclusion, most of the time, of 
the English grammar. There was only one Methodist family in the 
neighborhood, Stephen Woolsey, and his child, Elijah, was taunted by 
playmates with his parents' heresy. Methodism, then, was held in about 
the same repute that Spiritualism is now. Camp meetings were be- 
lieved to be places of debauchery and wickedness which all Calvanistic 
parents would not permit their young people to attend ; prayer meet- 
ings were held to be an abomination, and the thought that any one 
should be "converted" at one of them was a constant nightmare to the 
faithful of other faiths. Although this ancient prejudice has somewhat 
softened, I believe that the sect of the Wesleys' has never taken a very 
deep root in Little Britain. 

"From a period long before my birth, Andrew King occupied the pul- 
pit of the Wallkill (or Goodwill) church; he died during my boyhood. 
Soon after his death his place was supplied by a clergyman named Gray. 
Mr. Gray was liked very much at first, and it was supposed that he 
would be installed as pastor. Some of the more critical members, how- 
ever, ascertained in some way that he was a Hopkinsian. This was ter- 
rible. A heterodox wolf had crept into the fold of Andrew King and 
might devour some of his lambs. The story was whispered around at 

♦Buchanan was an early settler. His name was spoken as if written Bo-hon-on, 
the h distinctly aspirated. He was a soldier under Charles Clinton in the old 
French war. He was killed by the falling of a tree chopped by his son William 
and a man named Beattie. He owned the farm now owned by James Sliaw, as 
stated elsewhere. 

** John Morrison's distillery was erected in 1794. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 45 



first, but rapidly gained voice. Mr. Gray had a powerful party in the 
church who denied the charge most vehemently. The quarrel became 
intense, and friends and even families were divided. The members of 
the congregation in western Little Britain were parties to it, and it was 
only ended by the withdrawal from the church of Mr Gray's friends, 
who organized the "Berea" church. Mr. Gray left the field, however, 
before the new church was completed.* 

"I never heard the attempt made to explain Hopkinsianism but once, 
and that was by an old gentleman, John Chambers, who had a farm and 
blacksmith shop a little way from Morrison's tavern. I speak of Mr. 
Chambers respectfully, for he and his family have, I think, passed away. 
He was a warm opponent to Mr. Gray and of Hopkinsianism. Some 
of the Gray party was ill-natured and charged that the longer Chambers 
tarried at Morrison's the more vehement he became in his opposition. 
I will not say this, but it happened that, on one occasion he had evident- 
ly visited that source of theological and political inspiration. He was 
talking with Hector King, and the latter, not taking much interest in 
the matter, wanted to get away. At length he said: "Chambers, you 
are very abusive of ]\Ir. Gray and of Hopkinsianism. now I wish you 
to tell me what is the peculiar heterodoxy of that faith ; in what does it 
differ from what we all believe?" "Certainly," said Chambers, "if you 
do not know I will tell you." Bracing himself against the fence and 
throwing out his tobacco, he continued : "\\'ell, you know that Adam 
fell, and Jesus Christ came to save all who would believe on him. Well, 
Hopkinsianism comes from Hopkins ; he believed" — "'\\"hat did he be- 
lieve?" asked King; Chambers having stopped to take in a supply of 
tobacco. "Well," said Chambers. " I can't say that I can tell that oflf 
just like a minister; all I have to say is, damn Hopkinsianism.!" 

"James Scrimgeour was a good, honest old Scoth minister. I re- 
member him well. He occupied the pulpit of Little Britain church for 
a good many years. He was wont to appear before his congregation 
with a pure white vest upon him, each pocket of which he would have 
filled with Scotch snuff. He would commence his sermon in a calm 
and guarded enunciation, couched in excellent English. Little by little, 
he warmed up, and as he warmed he would draw from his pocket an 
immaculate white handkerchief and into it would empty the contents of 
his nose. Then his right-hand thumb and finger would convey a quanti- 
ty of snufY from the right vest pocket to his right-hand nostril ; then his 
left-hand thumb and finger would follow suit from the left pocket and 
supply his left nostril. Then he would speak with more earnestness and 

■'See Church History. 



A^ History of The Town of New Windsor. 

with a Scotch accent. Presently and successively frequent the same 
operations would be repeated, and in the end we would have a shower 
of snuff and broad Scotch, and a vest and a handkerchief the color of 
which I will not attempt to describe. I remember them much better 
than I do his sermons, which were decidedly doctrinal. 

"The people of Little Britain were much more addicted to the use 
of intoxicating- drinks, in old times, than at present. While wines and 
brandies had some use, whiskey, or "apple brandy," was the stimulant 
of the great majority. Joseph I. Houston was the only "teetotaller" 
that I knew when a boy. At a comparatively late day, Stephen Rapalje 
moved into the neig-hborhood and cut his hay without having liquor on 
the field. This was denounced as barbarous and mean at the time, but 
has many followers now. From the cradle to the grave, and at the 
grave, the use of liquors was considered indispensable. It was fed to 
infants, and taken daily by children, as well as by men and women ; and 
the only time I was intoxicated in my life, was at a funeral where I par- 
took of what had been left in the glasses of those who had taken part 
in the exercises of the occasion. 

"True to an education common to all nationalties, many of the old 
people were firm believers in witches, ghosts, and all other inhabitants 
of the invisible world so well known and so often seen in Ireland and 
Scotland. There was one spot in particular, in our neighborhood, 
around which, in the opinion of old and young, four troubled spirits 
perambulated nightly, and were said to be often seen by several old men 
on their way home from "Morrison's," and whose powers of vision 
were apparently intensified by the lateness of the hours of their stay at 
that place of resort. The story had its origin in fact. "Old Mrs. Perry," 
(that is the only name I ever heard for her), and three grand-children, 
occupied a miserable cabin, in the last quarter of the last century, situat- 
ed in one of my grandfather's fields, on an eminence which was long 
known as "Perry's hill." It had not been cultivated for many years, 
when I first knew it. and had grown up to a second growth of red oak 
trees from four to six inches in diameter. A perpendicular slate rock. 
about four feet high, carried the marks of the fire-place against it for 

*A very great reform has overtaken the district in this respect. The Rev. James 
M. Dickson, a pastor of Qoodwill Church, in his historical sermon, savs: -'The 
study of the period covered by our narrative shows that as the generations have 
come and gone there have been great advances in moralilv. The records of the 
early sessions and other church courts show that a vast amount of discipline had 
to be exercised in consequence of drunkenness and more heinous sins Now it 
IS a rare thing, with all the evil that is abroad, to find a call for such action on 
account of flagrant vices. Verily there has been progress." 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



47 



a long time after the cabin was removed, and three or four rods from it 
were the graves of the old lady and the children, nameless and unknown. 
The tradition about them was that their blood ran in no ones veins in 
the country. They were aliens, and strangers, and miserably poor, and 
depended principally on the charity of the neighborhood for support. In 
the cold winter of 1779-80, there was one storm of great violence which 
lasted several days. The snow fell to an unusual depth, and exceeding 
•cold winds banked it up in heaps, in some places six and eight feet. It 
was one or two days after the subsidence of the storm before the neigh- 
bors could dig their way out, and when this was done they thought of 
the woman and children. Their good intentions came too late ; when 
they reached the cabin its inmates were found lying together, on their 
bed, dead. The storm had been kind to them in its unkindness by remov- 
ing them from charities which were even colder than its searching blasts. 
The Grandmother lay with her arm and part of her body over them, as 
if trying to lend them the warmth of her body to preserve their lives. 
There was sympathy enough for the poor things when it was no longer 
needed; and it is not improbable that many felt a little twitching of con- 
science at the manner in which they had neglected their duty to them. 
Be this as it may, the popular belief was that the spirits of the frozen 
dead came with troubled face to the cabin window, and that the moaning 
cries of the helpless sufferers were heard by ears that never listened to 
them while they were in life. 

"My own boyish head was full of the story, which, though old, was 
new to me, and I very naturally kept pretty clear of "Perry's hill." Af- 
.ter my apprenticeship began, I scouted my owardice. Ghosts? There 
could be no such thing! In this happy frame of mind, I started one 
night to visit my parents. I was on foot and alone, and before I reach- 
ed the hill, along whose base the road ran, it was quite dark. It was a 
cold autumn evening; the fields and forests were stripped of their ver- 
dure; the dead leaves cracked under my feet; all my surroundings were 
suggestive of the wailing ghosts that were said to nightly walk hand in 
hand around their place of bodily sepulture. As I neared the grave- 
spot, I became wonderfully conscious of some unnatural presence ; I 
dared not look to the right or the left ; every sound startled me. I knew 
I was not afraid, and yet 

* "The cudgel in my nieve did shake — 
Each bristled hair stood like a stake." 
"I reasoned with myself in vain; the argument against the possibility 
of ghosts was good, but my nature was very weak. In the midst of my 
■jTiental debate, came the sound, 'Who !', and then a chuckling sound above 



48 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



my head, and a seemingly responsive voice howled upon the air, 'Whoo t 
Whoo! Hoo!' For an instant I was without power to move — the blood 
fled in a torrent to my heart. Though in a moment I knew that my 
alarmant was an owl, it took hours to regain my composure. The ghosts 
have doubtless been forgotten in the neighborhood, but I shall ever re- 
member my experience on that occasion. 

"When one looks over the beautiful fields of Orange County at the 
present day and compares them with what they were seventy years ago, 
will not fail to accord credit to the present generation of farmers. After 
having helped to settle three new states, I must give it as my opinion 
that my native town required more energy and heroism to reclaim it from 
the wilderness than any locality west of the Alleghany Mountains. In 
looking over the smooth prairies and easily subdued forests of the west, 
and glancing back to the stony, rocky hard soil of dear old Little Britain^ 
one must wonder how men could have had the heroism to undertake the 
building of homes there, especially with such limited implements as were 
then in use and at their command. Even in my day, a hundred years 
after its settlement, the farms were rough, the farming implements rude, 
and the people generally poor. I have seen many a harvest cut with 
sickles, and men and women engaged in using them. 'Cradles,' it is true, 
were used as long ago as I can remember, but very few were owned in 
the old neighborhood, and very few knew how to use them or cared to 
learn. They were not generally liked; cradling was called a wasteful 
slovenly way of gathering grain. The principal crop was Indian corn ; 
that and grass gave food for cows and pigs ; butter and pork were the 
staple exports. The first patent plow in the neighborhood was brouglit 
there by Samuel W. Wood. It was Tice's or Freeborn's, I don't remem- 
ber which ; it was received with great caution by the farmers as a thing 
that would soon break to pieces. Of iron-tooth harrows there were a 
few ; but most people preferred those of wood teeth, as a break could be 
more early repaired. It was very common to see rye covered, after it 
was sown, by a bush top. There was no talk then about the ten hour 
system. Farm hands were up at daylight and worked as long as they 
could see in the evening. The women milked the cows and performed a 
great deal of slavish labor, perhaps not to their discredit or special dis- 
comfort — it was a part of their life. Threshing was performed with the 
'flail,' and the cleaning up was by a miserable contrivance called a fanning 
mill — a machine that occupied twice as much space as those now used. 
Every farmer did not have one, and if he could not borrow, cleaned his 
grain with a 'riddle' in the wind. This was considered an excellent way 
to quell a hurricane. Old James Strachan used to say that no matter 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



49 



how high the wind was blowing, it would subside when he commenced 
winnowing grain. Judging from the modes described in the Bible, the 
mechanism of agriculture had made very little progress in four thousand 
years. 

"The economy of the people of Little Britain cannot be fully describ- 
ed or appreciated now. Our clothing was all manufactured from flax 
and wool grown on the farm. There were young women who went from 
farm to farm to spin and weave woolen, but the fiax was spun by the 
women of the house. Some of the female weavers found good husbands 
in their travels. The economy of expenditures for clothing, was carried 
into the general supplies of the table. Tea without sugar, was served in 
the morning, and in most cases butter also; boiled pork and vegetables 
made the dinner, and supawn and milk was the evening diet. There were 
exceptions, but such was the general rule. Well, we have gone on be- 
yond all these things now. 

"The Newburgh and Goshen road, at the commencement of the cen- 
tury, was a thoroughfare of great importance. The products of west- 
ern Orange, as well as of portions of New Jersey and Pennsylvania, 
passed over it, either to the Newburgh or New Windsor sloops. I have 
seen rr.any a Jersey wagon on the road, loaded with butter and pork 
and grain drawn by six horses. This commerce, with the help 
of the inhabitants along the way, supported a great many public 
houses, the principal of which in our neighborhood were Morrison's and 
the Rock Tavern. The latter was the oldest. I have been told that John 
Humphrey, Jr., started it as early as 1740. John Kerr kept it when I 
first knew it, and afterwards John Abercrombie. The latter had been a 
merchant in Newburgh, and had become wealthy. He became enamored 
with Margaret MacNeely, a poor but very beautiful sewing girl. She 
was the daughter of David and Janet MacNeely, of Little Britain. Aber- 
crombie offered himself as her husband, and was accepted. After their 
marriage he closed his store in Newburgh and bought the Rock Tavern, 
to which he removed and in a few years, died. His widow subsequently 
married a young man named Baird and the tavern was continued under 
their management. 

"James Palmer and his son. Charles Palmer, kept the Morrison stand 
and distillery for some years, and Matthew Crist the Rock Tavern. I 
have spoken of both of these taverns already and need not refer to thera. 
again, except it be to say that the taverns and the churches were the 
centers of the social and religious life of Little Britain, and the dis- 
courses of the one were duly considered at the other. The familiar faces 
at both places are fresh in my memory, and I stop my rambling pen in 
their presence as I did my tongue long years ago." 



50 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER V. 



ORANGEVILLE OR MOODNA — VAIL S GATE, QUASSAICK VALLEY OR MORTON- 
VILLE — HUNTING GROVE — STREAMS, ETC. 

Moodna. — The purchase and settlement of the district now known as 
Moodna, by Samuel and Nathaniel Hazard, who laid out there a town- 
ship plot under the name of Orangeville, has already been referred to.* 
Their enterprise, although well undertaken, was not successful. After 
laying out their plot, they established a landing at Sloop Hill (a short 
distance below Smith's Half-way House), and erected a mill and a dwell- 
ing house, the latter more recently owned by Nathaniel Sands, and tlie 
former, after many conversions, now constituting a manufactory of linen 
goods by Whiteside Brothers. 

At the time of the purchase by the Hazards, the bay at the mouth of 
the creek had a sufficient depth of water to float vessels of the then largest 
class. Availing themselves of this fact, and as a part of their enterprise, 
they built a ship, on the bank of the creek, just north of the shore road 
leading to Cornwall; but, while the vessel was still on the stocks, there 
came an extraordinary freshet, and, the soil being a quicksand, filled up 
the mouth of the creek beyond the possibility of navigation for larger 
vessels. They succeeded in getting their vessel in the river, by the use 
of barrels; but the expense incurred, together with the destruction of 
their township plan, which was contingent upon their harbor, proved 
their ruin. Their mill subsequently passed to John Vanaurdal (1753); 
then to John Arthur, and from him to Samuel Arthur; from the latter 
to Joseph Horton ( 1778) ; by the executors of Horton to John and James 
Thome (1789) who sold to Samuel Sackett, in May, 1803. Sackett sold 
to Lawrence & Van Buren in 1813; the latter to Wyckoff & Van Buren. 
William B. Leonard purchased it in 1845, and converted it into a cotton 
factory, and run it as such up to i860. The Whiteside Brothers pur- 
chased in 1862, and changed its machinery to the manufacture of linen 
goods, but without success. During its occupancy by Sackett, and sub- 
sequently under Lawrence & VanBuren, it had a very extensive patron- 
age, and it was not an unfrequent occurrence to see a line of wagons 
a half-mile long, waiting their turn to unload wheat at its door. 

* Ante, p. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. r f 

The wharf which the Hazard's constructed proved also, in the hands 
of their successors, a profitable venture. No little commerce was car- 
ried on from it as late as 1845, the shipments being mainly the products 
of the flouring- mill and of other manufacturing establishments, for 
which the valley became noted in later years and which will presently 
be noticed. That part of the property which passed to Nathaniel Sands 
was occupied by him for many years, during a considerable portion of 
which he conducted a cider mill and distillery. In the same vicinity 
Britton Moore had a tannery — subsequently continued by Mr. Delamater, 
who also established a rope-walk and a saw and a plaster mill. 

Among the earHest settlers in the valley was Samuel Brewster, who 
iuilt a saw-mill on the north side of the creek, just below the bridge at 
the foot of Forge-Hill, and also ( 1755) a dwelling immediately opposite, 
now commonly known as the Williams house, and traditionally recogniz- 
ed as the headquarters of (General Lafayette. The mill soon gave place 
to a forge and anchor shop, known as Brewster's forge, at which, dur- 
ing the Revolution, a considerable portion of the chains were made which 
were used to obstruct the navigation of the river at Fort Montgomery 
and at West Point. The site of the old forge can easily be traced by the 
cinders and debris which are turned up by the plow. 

A short distance east from the Brewster house, or Williams house, 
was a flouring mill erected by Jonas Williams, and subsequently con- 
ducted by himself and sons (1794) under the name of Jonas Williams & 
Co. Jonathan and Jacob Morrell came into its possession at a later 
period; they engaged in the manufacture of cut nails, and carried on a 
very extensive business. Caleb and Thomas Williams succeeded the 
Morrells. and engaged in the manufacture of snuff, which they sold from 
their wagons throughout the country. Roil & Storm were the next 
owners ; to the business of snuff manufacture they added that of fine-cut 
tobacco. The next proprietor was Mrs. Miller, whose "Rose-leaf Snuff 
and Tobacco," enjoyed a world-wide fame and gave her a fortune. In 
the prosecution of her business rose leaves were of course a necessity, 
to supply which she planted four acres with the variety known as the 
Philadelphia rose. The lot on which the planting was made is still 
known, but the roses and their fragrance have passed away. Mrs. Mill- 
•er's business was continued for some years by her son-in-law. Andrew 
H. Mickle, who was at one time mayor of the city of New York. 

About 1843, Leonard, Hone & NicoU put up a factor}' for the manu- 
facture of cotton goods on the site now occupied by the paper mills. The 
first story was of brick and the two upper, frame. In September. 1845, 
it was destroyed by fire. In 1847, it was rebuilt wholly of brick and run 



C2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



by Mr. Hazelhurst, for a few years, as a shoddy mill. In 1850, the prop- 
erty was purchased by D. Carson & Co., formerly of the Carson mills in. 
Massachusetts (David and David F. B. Carson and Eratus Ide), and 
converted into a paper mill, to which use it has since been devoted, with 
some changes in the proprietorship. It is now owned by James P. Town- 
send, of Newburg'h and is the only prosecuted manufacturing industry 
in the ancient township of Orangeville. 

The hamlet has a post office under the name of Moodna; the school 
house of district No. 2 is located there, and there are a few dwellings, 
principally occupied by operatives in the mills. It is not impossible that 
in the adjustments and readjustments of manufacturing industry which 
are constantly going on, the now almost neglected hydraulic power of 
the Moodna will again be utilized. 

Quassaick Valley. — The water power of the Quassaick, on the north- 
ern boundary of the town, was not employed at a very early period. The 
first record of its use was by Robert Boyd, Jr., who erected, in June, 
1775, a forge for the manufacture of guns, bayonets, etc. He obtained 
a contract from the revolutionary authorities of the state, by the terms 
of which he was to receive "three pounds fifteen shillings, New York 
money, for each good musket with steel ramrod, and bayonet with scab- 
bard." In February, 1776, he was able to write that he had "the best, 
gunsmiths' shop in the colonies," but nevertheless its capacity was limited 
offered a large premium for gunsmiths to assist him, and empowered its 
agents in Europe to secure workmen.** The first regiments organized 
from the difficulty in obtaining workmen.* The provincial convention 
in the state were mainly armed with muskets of his manufacture. At 
what time Boyd relinquished the business has not been ascertained, bu*- 
sometime about 1800 he converted the works into a plaster mill. The 
next change was in 1808, when George Parker and Abner Armstrong 
advertised that they had " erected machines for breaking and carding 
wool at the plaster mill of Robert Boyd, on the road leading from New 
Windsor to Newburgh,*** one milelfrom each place." The property was 
sold by Samuel Boyd to George Reid who converted it to a paper mill. 
From tlie Reid estate it passed to John Barker, who manufactured hats. 
Barker sold to Benj. Carpenter, at which time it was operated by John 
11. Waters who manufactured woolen goods. Carpenter sold to George 

*Hist. Newburgh, 281. 
** Proceedings, Prov. Conv. 
***Tlie road referred to ihas been discontinued for a number oi years- It was 
part of the old "King's Highway." 



History of Thk Town of New Windsor. c^ 

Crawshaw, Crawshaw to Wm. H. Beede ; Beede to Edward Haigh by 
whom it was operated under the title of the Valley Woolen Mills. 

The second privilege (long known as Schultz's mill) was occupied by 
Governor George Clinton who erected a grist mill and a saw-mill. He 
sold to Hugh Walsh in 1790. Walsh, July 5th of that year, conveyed 
to Isaac Schultz thirty-two acres extending west from Hudson's River 
to lands of Robert Boyd, including the undivided half part of "' grist 
mill stream of water " and land under water on the Hudson. ** The 
mill stood a short distance west of the Hudson on the east side of the 
old highway. In 1794 (July 6) Schultz sold to Daniel Byrnes the lot 
on the east including one-half of the mill building, the division line 
being " the middle of the post next west of the north door of said mill." 
including one-half of the Hume. etc.. and two mills were thereafter run 
under one roof, the proprietors being particular to say '' their separate 
mills " in their advertisements. Isaac Schultz continued his mill until 
his death in 1802. when it came into the possession of his brother Jacob, 
who sold it to Peter Townsend. The Byrnes mill and property attached 
passed from Dinah Byrnes, widow of Danial Byrnes, to Caleb Byrnes, 
March 12. 1799. The assignees of Caleb Byrnes sold to Richard Winble 
in 1801. and it was continued by him for some years. Winble sold to 
Elisha Hale in 1835, and Klisha Hale to Philip A. X'erplanck in 1837. 
Verplanck closed the race-way and suffered the mill to decay on its 
foundations. 

The third privilege was occupied by Hugh Walsh who retained one- 
half of the mill stream and the remainder of the Clinton farm not con- 
veyed to Schultz. and who. in company with John Craig, erected in 1792, 
the paper mill afterward owned by his son. John H. Walsh, and now by 
his grandson. J. DeWitt Walsh. This mill is still in successful opera- 
tion and is situated at the extreme west end of the valley. 

The fourth privilege was that embraced in the purchase from Jacob 
Schultz by Peter Townsend and was known as the cannon foundry. 
This foundry was erected in 1816 on a site immediately west of the 
Schultz mill, and consisted of two furnaces and four boring mills.** 

*The deed recites ithe former purchase of one hundred acres from Nathan 
Smith by Robert B'oyd and George Harris, of which this was a part. Th€ re- 
mainder of the original purchase included the subsequent mill and residence of 
Boyd. t)he latter now die propertty laite of Mrs. Charles 'H- Havem^yer. 

**During the Summer past. Mr. Peter Townsend 'has 'been engaged in building 
a cannon foundry on Qiambers' Creek, just below the village- It is now in com- 
plete operation. On Wednesday last 'the casiting of camron was commenced. — In- 
dex, Dec- 3, 1816. 

Referring to a trial of cannon cast by iMr. Townsend, *he National InttelH- 
_gencer of July 17, 1817, remarks : "The first cannon ever manufactured in lihe 
State of New York, and of metal and accuracy of firing were never excelled." 



54 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



The enterprise was not a financial success, however, and the property 
passed into the possession of the U. S. Government and subsequently to.' 
John A. Tompkins about 1S36, who converted it into a machine shop. 
Mr. Tompkins was accidently drowned in December, 1838, and the 
property came into the possession of Charles Ludlow and Christopher 
B. Miller, from whom it passed to Mr. Sterritt, who converted it into a 
pin factory. This business also failed, and Joseph Longking and Aaron 
F. Palmer took it for the manufacture of daguerrean instruments, cases^ 
etc., but with no better success. The last occupant was John Gray who 
converted it into a flour mill. While being occupied by him it was 
destroyed by fire. Those who remember the activity which at one time 
prevailed there can best appreciate the desolation that now sits with 
folded wings on its ruins. 

West of the old Boyd mill, George Reid established a paper mill — date 
not ascertained. Reid died in 1837 or '^8, and from his executors the 
property passed to John H. Walsh & Sons ; from them to Samuel A. 
Walsh ; from him to Charles H. Havemeyer ; from Havemeyer's execu- 
tors to Mrs. Havemeyer, and from her to Edward Haigh. This prop- 
erty is now the Windsor Woolen Mills, and is next east of the high 
bridge on Ouassaick Avenue. 

The last of the milling enterprises is on a site sold by John H. Walsh 
to Alexander Marshall ; Marshall to Darlington ; Darlington to Isaac K. 
Oakley ; Oakley to Adams & Bishop. This mill has been for several 
years engaged in the manufacture of paper. 

It may not be improper to add that on the north side of the creek 
(Newburgh) and near its confluence with the Hudson, Richard Wim- 
ble erected a flouring mill, in the early part of the century. He also ob- 
tained a grant of the land under water (July 30, 1811) and constructed 
a dock and a large cooper shop ; the remains of the former are visible 
on the point east of the bridge. The property was purchased by Elisha 
Hale in 1835, and a manufacture of pumps conducted. From Hale the 
property passed through several parties to Homer Ramsdell, who sold 
to the Pennsylvania Coal Company. The mill was destroyed by fire 
during Mr. Ramsdell's ownership. The creek at this point was a naviga- 
ble stream for small vessels and the bridge of the Newburgh and New 
Windsor Turnpike Company was constructed as a draw-bridge for their 
accommodation. West of the Trimble mill was the plot celebrated for 
many years under the name of " The Vale," while part of the Trimble 
house was shrined in tradition as the scene of the attempted betrayal 
of Washington to the British by one Colonel Ettrick, for which reason 
the place was sometimes called EUrick Grove.* 



*Hist. Newburgih, 214. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. cc 

Vail's Gate. — Notwitlistanding repeated efforts to change its name 
to Mortonville. the settlement long known as Vail's Gate retains that 
title in local records and in railroad connections. It is a hamlet at the 
junction of the New Windsor and Blooming Grove turnpikes and the 
Snakchill turnpike and immediately southeast of the junction of the 
Ncwburgh Branch and Shortcut railroads. The name is from Mr. 
Vail an old resident and for many years keeper of the gate on the 
Blooming Grove turnpike. For the same reason it was at one time 
known as Tooker's Gate. It has a school house, and a short distance 
east is the Vail's Gate M. E. Church. '1 he latter is one of the oldest 
Methodist societies in the county, having been founded as John Elli- 
son's class in 1789. The Edmonston house is also located here. It is re- 
ferred to elsewhere. 

Ra-i^z'ille is the title of a hamlet of half a dozen houses and a 
blacksmith's shop, about two miles west of the Little Britain Church. 
Its name came from a man named Davenport who had a store there and 
exchanged goods for rags. The first property beyond was formerly the 
famous Morrison Tavern and distillery ; and further west Rock Tavern. 
Both of these taverns were, in early times, important factors in the 
social and political life of the district. The Rock Tavern takes 
its name from the rock on which it is erected. Company train- 
ings were held here as well as political meetings, and it was 
here that the initiatory steps were taken for the organization of 
the present County of Orange. Both taverns were embraced in 
the road district known at an early date as Hunting Grove, which 
extended west to the Otterkill and included the settlement then 
known as Hunting Grove, but more recently called Buskirk's mills and 
now known as Burnside P. O. The name of the settlement was be- 
stowed by Nathan Smith who established" mills and a store there. A 
considerable portion of the district is now in the town of Hamptonburgh, 
while the name Hunting Grove, after the adoption of Blooming Grove 
by the inhabitants of thajt town, fell into disuse. Another of the once 
noted localities Stonefield, was the residence and grammar school of Rev. 
John Moffat, who had among his pupils some of the most noted men of 
earlier times. 

CREEKS, STREAMS, SWAMPS, ETC.. 

Murderer's or Moodna Creek on the southern border of the town and 
Ouassaick Creek on the north, are too well known to require further 
description than has already been given elsewhere in this work. 



c6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

Silver Stream rises near the Square and is fed by a number of springs 
north and south of the main road. It crosses the New Windsor road at 
the old Alex. Fall's saw mill and from there flows in a southeast direction 
through what are called the " Continental Meadows," and crosses the 
Snakehill road north of Vail's Gate. East of this road there is another 
old saw mill on the Morton place, where the creek crosses the old New 
Windsor turnpike and supplies power to the Morton { formerly the 
John Ellison) grist mill. From thence flowing south it unites with 
Murderer's Creek. The only mill privileges on it are those that have 
been mentioned, of which the Morton mill is the most important. It 
is not a certain stream, but being fed by a water-shed of not less than 
two thousand acres it is quick to respond to rain falls. 

Beaver Dam Creek has been claimed as the original outlet of Orange 
Lake. It crosses the Cochecton Turnpike between Alex. Beattie's place 
and the old stone house formerly owned by the Howells ; runs south 
through New Windsor and empties into the Otterkill, west of Salisbury 
Mills. There were several saw mills on it in former times of which only 
one remains, viz : on the old Belknap farm, now owned by Robert Mor- 
rison. Thomas McDowell ("Uncle Tommy") had a grist mill on it 
south of the main road, where he was wont to grind feed for his neigh- 
bors without taking toll. It cannot now be ascertained what the original 
power of the creek was. Its claims as the original outlet of Orange Lake 
were disputed in the courts many years ago and a decision obtained in 
favor of Quassaick Creek. 

Goldsmith Creek rises on the Burnet homestead in Little Britain, 
runs south through the old Clinton place into the Otterkill at Washing- 
tonville. 

Colemantown Creek, another small stream in the western part of the 
town, also flows to the Otterkill. 

Big Swamp or Great Swamp is in the northwest part of the town and 
extends into Montgomery. It commences within a quarter of a mile of 
the main road in Little Britain and runs thence north to near the Cohec- 
ton Turnpike. The north part of it has been redeemed and is now under 
cultivation. Its outlet forms a branch of the Tinn Brook although it 
does not take that name until after it crosses the Cochecton Turnpike. 
There is little doubt that this part of the town was once filled with 
water presenting a pond or lake. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. cy 



CHAPTER VI. 



PLEDGE OF ASSOCL\TION — MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS — RENOLUTIONARY 

* INCIDENTS. 

While New Windsor was the center of many events i:»f a general 
character connected with the War of the Revolution, it was not leis hO 
in those that were more strictly local. It was from its bosom that the 
then young- and vigorous George Clinton, who had made his mark in 
the Colonial assembly from 1768 to 1775, in opposition to the demands of 
the British Ministry, sprang into the leadership of the Rebellion in his 
native state ; and although there were some who refused to follow him, 
the great majority of his townsmen were his firm supporters. The 
primary step in the Rebellion — the non-importation resolutions of the 
Continental Congress of 1774 — was heartily approved, and in the sub- 
sequent organization of a " Committee of Safety and Observation," the 
action of the precinct was not uncertain. These committees, it may be 
observed, had their origio in New York City, so far as the province of 
New York was concerned, the committee of which city, of which Isaac 
Low was chairman, sent circulars to all the towns and precincts in the 
province urging similar formations and the union of the inhabitants un- 
der a common pledge of assoeiafiou. The records of the town state : An 
association for the more firm union of the inhabitants in pursuing meas- 
ures for their common safety — then proceeded to nominate and elect the 
following persons to be a Standing Committee until the next precinct 
meeting : 

Col. James Clinton, Capt. James McClaughry, John Nicoll. Esq., John 
Nicholson, Esq., Nathan Smith, Esq.. Robert Boyd, Jr., Samuel Brew- 
ster. Samuel Sly, Samuel Logan. 

Col. James Clinton, Capt. James McClaughry and John Nicholl, Esq., 
were named as delegates to represent the precinct in a convention to be 
held at the house of Mrs. Ann DuBois, Marlborough, to appoint dele- 
gates to the Provincial Convention at New York, May 25th." 

The signatures to the Association are not recorded, nor were they re- 
turned to the Provincial Congress. Fortunately, however, they were in 
the main preserved by Col. James Clinton, in whose hands they were 
plnced and were as follows : 



58 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



" The following was set on foot in the Precinct of New Windsor, in 
the County of Ulster, on Monday, the eighth day of May, 1775, viz : 

Persuaded that the salvation of the rights and liberties of America 
depend, under God, on the firm union of its inhabitants in a vigorous 
prosecution of the measures necessary for its safety ; and convinced of the 
necessity of preventing anarchy and confusion, which attend the disso- 
lution of the powers of government, we, the freemen, freeholders, and in- 
habitants of New Windsor, being greatly alarmed at the avowed design 
of the Ministry to raise a revenue in America, and shocked by the bloody 
scenes now acting in Massachusetts Bay, do, in the most solemn manner^ 
resolve never to become slaves, and do associate, under all the ties of re- 
ligion, honor and love to our country, to adopt and endeavor to carry 
hito execution whatever measures may be recommended by the Continen- 
tal Congress or resolved upon by our Provincial Convention for the pur- 
pose of preserving our Constitution, and opposing the execution of the 
several arbitrary acts of the British Parliament, until a reconciliation be- 
tween Great Britain and America on constitutional principles (which we 
most ardently desire) can be obtained and that we will in all things 
follow the advice of our General Committee respecting the purposes 
aforesaid, the preservation of peace and good order, and the safety of in- 
dividuals and property." 



James Clinton, 
Robert Boyd, Jr., 
John Nicoll, 
John Nicholson, 
Nathan Smith, 
Samuel Brewster, 
James McClaughsy, 
Samuel Logan, 
Samuel Sly, 
Matthew DuBois, 
James Denniston, 
Matthew McDowell, 
John Cook, 
Jacob Mills, 
Daniel Mills, 
John Umphry, 
James Umphrey, 
George Umphrey, 
Oliver Humphrey, 
Thomas Cook 



William Gage, 
Robert Stewert, 
Alexander Telford, 
Alexander Kernahan, 
Samuel Wood, 
Robert Smith, 
William Stinson, 
Nathaniel Garrison, 
Jonah Park, 
Henry Roberson, 
Andrew Dickson, 
Scudder Newman, 
Benjamin Horman, 
George Coleman, (2) 
James Humphrey, (2) 
William Miller, 
Peter John, 
John Davis, 
William Telford, 
Samuel Lamb, ( ?) 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



59- 



iJaniel Clcmence, 

Robert Conhan, (?) 

john W'augh, 

Walter McAlichail, 

George Coleman, 

James Dunlap, (by order J 

James Gage, (by order) 

James AlcDowell, 

joiin Smith, 

Fiancis Mains, 

William Fulton, 

James M. Oliver, 

James Miller, 

James Taylor, 

William Miller, (2) 

John Morrison, 

Hugh Polloy, 

Charles Byrn, 

Hugh Waterson, 

Samuel Given, (by order) 

Jonathan Parshall, 

Caleb Dill, (by order) 

John Dill, (by order) 

Robert Burnet, Jr., 

James Greer, 

Timothy Mills, 

John Mills, 

Edward Miller, 

William Buchanan, 

Thomas Eliot, 

Robert Whigham, 

Matthew Bell, 

John Grudge, (by order) 

Robert Campbell, 

Robert Thompson, 

Nathaniel Boyd, (by order) 

Robert Boyd, Sr., (by order) 

Charles Nicholson, 
Charles Kernaghan, 
Silas Wood, 
Richard Wood, 



joiiu Coleman, 

John Burnet, 

Robert Boyd, ( ?) 

\\ illiam Crawford, 

J as. Young, 

j oseph Beatty, 

John W. Miklan, ( ?) 

.Xndrcw Robinson, 

Henry McXeeley, Jr., 

Alex Taylor, 

Robert Johnsttjn, 

Geo. Harris, 

James Perry, 

Joseph Sweezey, 

Stephen King, (by order) 

Samuel Boyd, 

Alexander Fulton, 

John Mnrphey, (by order) 

John Cunningham, 

lames Faulknor, 

Benj. r.urnani, 

James Jackson, Jr., 

David Clark. 

Austin Beardsley. 

Isaac Stonehouse. 

Nathan Sargent. 

Thomas Swafiford, 

John Hiffernan, 

Gilbert Sect, 

Timothy White. 

Tames Smith, (by order) 

James Docksey, (by order) 

Dennis Furshay, (by order) 

Wm. Park. 

Sol In Smith, 

George ^lavings, 

David Thompson, 
Samuel Woodward. 
Samuel Brewster. Jr., 
Nathaniel Liscomb, 
lonathan White. 



•6o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



William Robinson, David Mandevill, 

Eliphalet Leonard, William Mulender, (by order) 

Arthur Caddan, (?) Alexander Beatty, 

W^illiam Nichols, (by order) William Welling, 

John Johnston, Peter Welling, (by order) 

Edward Lyal, Isaac Belknap, 

Thomas McDowell, John Close, (Rev.) 

David Crawford, Hugh Turner, (by order) 

Henerry McNeeley, William Moflfat, 

James Crawford, Nathaniel Boyd, (2) 

John Morrison, ( ?) Edward Petty, 

William Niclos, William Beatty, 

Joseph Belknap, 

In May, 1776, the Committee of Safety was changed, in consequence 
of the active employment of some of its members in the field. It was 
then composed of Samuel Brewster, Robert Boyd, Jr.. Nathan Smith, 
Hugh Humphrey, George Denniston, John Nicoll, Col. James Mc- 
Claughry, Leonard D. Nicoll and Samuel Arthur. Samuel Brewster, 
chairman. 

The importance of this committee will be recognized when it is stat- 
ed that it not only was the representative of the association but was a 
part' of the Revolutionary Government of the province and of the pre- 
cinct so far as it became necessary. The government of New York differ- 
ed from that of the New England Colonies. The people of the latter, 
under their several charters, elected their own governors and legislatures ; 
while those of the former had no such power, the governor being ap- 
pointed by the King, and the governor's council composed of members 
of his selection. In New England, therefore, the revolution could be 
carried forward without disturbing" the existing order of things, while 
in New York the government had to be set aside, and, as in the case 
of the nation, a new one created. Pending this change, common law was 
maintained as far as practicable, while to these committees were as- 
signed the powers inferentially declared in the Pledge of Association : 
" The necessity of preventing anarchy and confusion, which attend dis- 
solution of government," and " the preservation of peace and good or- 

*N'Oite. — (?) 'indicates uncertainty of surname; (2) th&t name appears twice 
without suffix of Jr. or Sr- The names are from tihe original list, found among 
the papers of Genl. James Cliniton, obairman of ihe comm^iittee, now depo'sited in 
Wasihington's Headquarters, Newburgh. Wbile their gcnuincss cannot be ques- 
tioned, the completeness of 't)he list (as sihowing the 'full number of " freemen, free- 
holders and inhabitants") may be, as it fails to account for many w*ho are known 
to have been suoh at the time- It is not probable that a full return was ever 
mad**, and we are, therefore, without the names of those who refused to sign as well 
•as of some perhaps, who did sign the Association. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 6r 



der, and the safety of individuals and property. At first responsible only 
to the general committee of New York City, the local committees were 
subsequently recognized by the provincial convention and its subordinate 
committees of safety, and invested with the control of the minute men, 
and all the duties of local revolutionary administration. Precinct com- 
mittees could appoint assessors and collectors, while county committees 
were to be " considered as supervisors " and could assess, raise and col- 
lect taxes " by distress upon the goods and chattels of the defaulters." 
They could also "apprehend and -secure all persons" who evinced "aa 
inimical disposition to the cause of America. 

It was not necessary, in New Windsor, that many of the duties of the 
committee should be exercised ; the officers of the precinct continued 
to perform their accustomed duties in the interest of the revolution, 
leaving to the committee the arrest of those inimical and the organiza- 
tion of the militia. In many of the cases of arrest, the New Windsor 
committee acted in concert with that of Newburgh. The most import- 
ant action of this character was the arrest of Cadwallader Colden. Jr.. at 
his residence in the precinct of Hanover (now Montgomery). The 
story as related by himself, states that in June, 1776, between eleven 
and twelve o'clock at night, his house was surrounded by a comjjany of 
armed men, who, on being questioned, stated that they had been sent by 
order of the joint committee of Newburgh and New Windsor, with in- 
structions to search his house, which they proceeded to do. Standing 
guard over the premises until the next day, they conducted him to the 
home of Mr. Jackson, in New Windsor, where he was confined twenty- 
four hours, although Mr. Thomas Ellison ofifered to become bail for his 
appearance. When taken before the committee he was informed that 
the charge against him was that of being " inimical to the American 
cause." He replied that while he had liad convictions in regard to the 
duty of the people, and had expressed them at a time when he thought 
it possible to ward ofif the calamities of war, he had subsequentlv " en- 
tirely avoided interfering in any shape in public affairs." Given the 
choice of trial by the joint committee or by the county committee of 
Ulster, he accepted the latter, and was at once removed, under guard, 
to the jail at Kingston. The case was brought before the general com- 
mittee at New Paltz. July 4, when, on his refusal to sign the pledge of 
association and also to give his pledge of honor " that he would im- 
mediately equip himself for the field of battle, and in case of actual in- 
vasion, go forth with the rest of his neighbors to action in defence of 

*His'tory Newburgh, 3O, 138. 



62 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



his country," he was ag-ain committed to jail. The joint committee rep- 
resented on the trial, that they had made the arrest under the conviction 
" that the committee of the precinct of Hanover were afraid to treat Mr. 
Colden as he deserved ; " that although not in their district he was more 
contiguous to them than to the district in which he lived ; that in his 
original signature to the pledge of association it was evident he only 
meant to secure a sanctuary for his person and property ; that the pro- 
test which he had written against the appointment of delegates to the 
first provincial congress, was " the evil seed sown in this county from 
which the whole of the fruits of toryism sprung, for to their knowledge 
upwards of sixty persons in the precinct of Newburgh had subscribed 
it"* 

Other reasons were stated, and especially that the pledge of associa- 
tion was not a pledge of neutrality, " but a firm bond of union for mutual 
defence, which required activity." This bond he had plainly violated. 
Colden remained in jail for over a year, when he was permitted to re- 
side on parole at the house of Jacobus Hardenburgh, in Hurley. 



MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS. 

The first military organization in the district of which New Wind- 
sor now forms a part was made prior to 1738, and was known as " the 
foot company of military of the precinct of the Highlands." It was 
one of the companies of the Ulster regiment of which A. Gaasbeck 
Chambers was colonel* So far as can now be identified the following 
members were residents of the New Windsor district, viz : 

Arthur Beatt>, 
Giarles Beatty, 
Matthew Davis, 
John Nicoll, Jr., 

John Gamble, 

Cor'us McClean, 

John Humphrey, Jr., 

James Humphrey, 

Peter MuHnder, 

Robert Burnet, 

Archibald Beaty, 
The regiment was divided in 1756 into two regiments, of which the 
first embraced Kingston, etc., and the second embraced Newburgh, New 



Capt. Thos. Ellison, James Neely, 

Ensign John Young, John Reid, 

Sergt. P. McClaughry, David Humphrey, 

Corp. Jas. Stingham, James Gamble, 

Corp. Jona Hazzard, 

Clerk Chas. Clinton 

John Humphrey, 

Alex. Falls, 

Joseph Shaw, 

James Young, 



Jas. Edmeston, 
Andrew McDaved, 
Caleb Curtis, 
David Oliver, 
John Jones, 
Joseph McMikhill. 



*Brod Bros. Con. ii., 245, 3O5. 

**Hist. Newburgh, 273. Doc Hi&t. N. Y., IV, 226. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 63 

Windsor, etc. The latter was under command of Col. Thomas Ellison 
and took part in the French and Indian war of that period. In Septem- 
ber, 1773, it was under the following- officers, viz : Thomas Ellison, colo- 
nel ; Charles Clinton, lieutenant-colonel ; Cadwallader Colden, Jr., ma- 
jor, and Johannes Jensen, adjutant. In 1774, Col. Ellison divided the 
regiment into two battalions, of which the command of the first batalion 
was given to James Clinton.* This was the last re-organization of 
the militia under authority of the English government. 

On the 22nd of August, 1775. the Provincial Congress of New York 
passed a law under which the militia of the Revolution was organized. 
This law set aside the commissions and the organizations which then 
existed, and provided that counties, cities and precincts should be di- 
vided by their respective committees of safety, so that in each district 
a company should be formed " ordinarily to consist of about eighty-three 
able-bodied and effective men. officers included, between sixteen and 
fifty years of age." 

The companies so formed were directed to be " joined into regiments, 
each regiment to consist of not less than five nor more than ten com- 
panies, and the regiments were to be classed in six brigades. When the 
organization was perfected, the counties of Orange and Ulster formed 
the fourth brigade, under Brigadier-General George Clinton, ar was 
composed of five regiments in Orange county and of four regiments in 
Ulster county, of which the second Ulster regiment was placed under 
command of James Clinton, colonel ; James McClaughry. lieutenant- 
colonel ; George Denniston. adjutant ; Alexander Trimble, quarter-mast- 
er ; Jacob Newkirk and Moses Phillips, majors ; New Windsor was a 
part of the second regimental district under Colonel Clinton, and was 
divided into three company districts — Eastern, western and village. In 
the eastern district the comixmy was organized on the 5th of October, 
1775 — John Belknap, captain ; Silas Wood, first lieutenant ; Edward 
Falls, second lieutenant ; James Stickney, ensign. The western district 
company was organized May 6, 1776 — James Humphrey, captain ; James 
Kernaghan, second lieutenant ; Richard Wood, ensign. The village com- 
pany was organized in 1775** — John Xicoll, captain Francis Mandeville, 

* " Out of respedt of his family and in conardie ration of die long and farflrful 
services of the deceased old gentleman, and his son. James Cl'inton in the Pro- 
ivncial service tihe last war."— Letter of Gov.Tryon to Col. Ellison. 

**Prior to Bhe organ'ization of these companies, a company of militia had ex- 
isted in the upper part of the town and another in the lower part- Tlie officers of 
the former, in Mav, 1775, united in the " pledge of association " of tihat year : 
" To obser\^e and carry into execution to the utmost of our power, all and every 
the orders, rules and recommendations, made or to be made by the Continental 
or our Provisional Congress-" The signatures were James McClaughrey, George 
Denniston Johi: Burnet, James Humphrey, James Faulkner, Jacob Newkirk, Rich- 
ard Wood William Telford, Samuel Logan, James Kernaghan, Alexander Beatty. 



64 



History of The Town of New Windsor.' 



first lieutenant ; Hezekiah Winter, second lieutenant ; Leonard D. 
Nicoll, en^sign. 

The changes in the ofihcers and membership of these companies as 
well as in the second regiment were quite frequent, and mainly by reason 
of enlistments and commissions in continental regiments. It was in this 
way that the command of the regiment devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel 
McClaughry, who, on the 23rd of January, 1776, appointed the village 
of New Windsor as the place of rendezvous of his regiment in case 
of an alarm. From December, 1776, to May, 1778, the regiment was in 
service probably not less than three hundred days.* In this period was 
included its participation in the defence of the Highland forts (Oct. 6, 
1777). where it lost, in killed, wounded and prisoners* thirty-nine mem- 
bers, as follows : 



Col. Jas. ]\IcClaughry, 
Henry M. Neely, 
Robert Henry, 
William Scott, 
Matthew DuBois, 
Francis McBride, 
Robert Houston, 
Andrew Wilson, 
Christopher Sypher, 
John Dankins, 
William Stenson, 
William Humphrey, 
George Humphrey, 
James Miller, 
John Skinner, 
Gradus \'inegar, 
Bolton \"anDyck, 
Cornelius Slutt, 
William Howell, 
John Hanna, 



Robert Barclay, 
James Wood, 
David Thompson, 
Elias Wool, 
William McMullen, 
Isaac Denton, 
George Brown, 
Ethan Sears, 
Philip Millspaugh, 
John VanArsdell, 
George Coleman, 
Albert Wells, 
Hezekiah Kane, 
John Manney, 
Isaac Kimbark, 
Samuel Falls, 
Moses Cantine, 
John Carmichael, 
James Humphrey, 



A special feature in the organization of the militia under the law of 
1775 was what were known as minute men. The law provided "that 
after the whole militia " was formed, in the manner already detailed 
" every fourth man of each company " should " be selected for minute 
men " of such persons as were willing to enter into that necessary ser- 



*No retairn has been discov^ered. The es'timate is bnsed on the return of ser- 
vices of Col. Has'brouck's regiment under similar orders. — Hist. Newburgh, 141. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 6c 

vice. The persons thus selected were to be organized in companies and 
elect officers, and the companies were to be organized in regiments. The 
plan, however, was not satisfactory in its operation, and it was abolished 
in June, 1776. In the meantime the provisions of the law were gener- 
ally complied with. In the southern district of Ulster three companies 
were formed, one in New Windsor, one in Xewburgh and one in New 
Marlborough, of which the former was organized in October, 1775 — 
Samuel Logan, captain ; John Robinson, ensign ; David Mandeville and 
John Schofield, sergeants. The regiment of which they were a part was 
under command of Morrnas Palmer, of Newburgh, colonel, and was on 
duty in the Highlands in the winter of i775-'76. The principal duty of 
the companies, however, was in the capacity of a posse comitatus under 
the direction of the local committees of safety. 

The first New York or " Continental " regiments as they were called, 
were constituted in 1775 for the term of six months. These regiments 
were four in number, of which the third was placed under command of 
Colonel James Clinton. Four companies were recruited for this regi- 
ment in Ulster county, of which one was raised by John Nicholson of 
New Windsor, who writes under date of July 13th : " Agreeable to 
my warrant and instructions from the Provincial Congress, I have en- 
listed a company of seventy-two men to serve in the Continental Army, 
and now wait for further directions of the Congress." The regiment 
composed part of the force engaged in the campaign against Canada in 
the winter of i775-'76, where Nicholson was raised to the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel. On the 19th of January, 1776. a call was issued under 
which New York was required to furnish four battalions " to garrison 
the several forts of the Colony from Crown Point to the southward, and 
to prevent depredations upon Long Island, and to promote the safety of 
the whole." The command of the second battalion was given to Colonel 
James Clinton, and of the three companies recruited for it in Ulster 
county, one under command of Captain John Belknap, was raised in 
New Windsor, and was engaged on garrison duty in the Highlands. 

In September of the same year. New York was called to furnish four 
battalions " to serve during the war." To the third of these battalions, 
under command of Colonel Peter Gunsevort, New Windsor sent one com- 
pany under Captain James Greggs ; George I. Denniston, ensign. A 
fifth battalion was added to the number in October, under command of 
Colonel Lewis DuBois, of Marlborough ; Samuel Logan, of New Wind- 
sor, major, and drew no small nimiber of recruits from New Windsor. 
These battalions and Colonel John Lamb's artillary were the only regi- 
ment raised in the State " for the war," and were kept in the field by 



66 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



levies and by recruitimg for short periods to supply vacancies in their 
ranks. Colonel DuBois' regiment and Col. Lamb's artillery were en- 
gag-ed in the defence of the Highland forts in October, 1777, and suffered 
severely in killed, wounded and prisoners. 

Necessarily imperfect as is this record, it is sufficient to show that 
in every military organization in the State during the revolution, that 
whenever the flag of the rebellion floated — whether amid the snows of 
Quebec or on the burning plains of Monmouth, at Fort Schuyler, Sara- 
toga and Yorktown — New Windsor was honorabl}^ represented by her 
sons in its defense. 

REVOLUTIONARY INCIDENTS. 

TJie Fall of the Highland Forts. 

When the general alarm occurred on the occasion of the loss of the 
forts in the Highlands (Oct. 7, 1777), the people of the village of New 
Windsor village fled into the country for safety, leaving behind them 
in their haste their dwellings ready for occupation either by friends or 
enemies, and as the result proved in many cases it made little difiference 
which was the fortunate temporary possessor. William Bedlow writes 
that his family were unable to remove " several boxes and cases of 
China, some cases of pictures and looking glasses, several tables (one 
with marble slab), chairs, window curtains, some ornamental China, 
with images of Shakespear and Milton in plaster of Paris, and a parcel 
of table furniture left in the closets," for the recovery of which he sub- 
sequently advertised in vain. * Colonel Ellison, tradition says, was more 
fortunate. He put his money and plate under the ground in his smoke 
house, hung up his hams and lighted a cob fire. The hams were gone, 
on his return, but the treasure was safe. Governor George Clinton ap- 
parently suffered with his neighbors and perhaps to a greater extent. 

* Whereas, on the 7th of Oc-tober last, when the general alarm took place on the 
loss of our forts in the Highlands, my family removed from my house, at New 
Windsor, unable to carry off all my effects, by which cause a considerable quantity 
was left, consisting of several boxes and cases of china, some cases of pictures and 
looking glasses, several tables, one a marble slab, chairs, window curtains, some 
ornamental china, with images of Shakespear and Milton in plaster of Paris, and a 
parcel of table furniture left in the closets; the whole to the amount of upwards of 
six hundred pounds value. As the subscriber flatters himself the above effects have 
been removed for safety by persons at present unknown to him, if those who have 
them in possession will be so kind as to inform him by a line, directed to the care 
of Capt. James Jackson, Sen., at New Windsor, he will most thankfully acknowl- 
edge the obligation and repay anv expenses they may have been at. But should 
any person be so base as to have taken anything from his house with design to 
secrete the same, they may depend, on discovery, to be prosecuted for the whole 
loss. A great many small articles are missing, not mentioned above. 

Wn.LiAM Bedlow. 

Fishkill, Nov. 5, iTji.—Adv. N. Y. Packet. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 67 

From the place of refuge of his family (Little Britain) he writes under 
•date of Dec. ist, 1777 : " I have a cot at my house out of which the 
Jiiilitia stole the irons ; will you get it repaired for me, as I have no 
other bed or bedstead." It will not be presumed that any of Governor 
Clinton's townsmen were guilty of these appropriations; but rather that 
they were by the class known as " skinners " who were found in every 
■camp and who robbed friend and foe alike. 

Morgan's Rijfoncn. — It cannot be said, however, that the people of 
New Windsor village were altogether law-abiding. Under date of Aug. 
7, 1775. Governor Tryon writes : " Eleven companies of riflemen, con- 
sisting of about one hundred men each, with ammunition, from the prov- 
inces of Pennsylvania, Maryland and \'irginia, have lately passed 
through this province, crossing over Hudson's river at New Windsor, in 
their march to the provincial camp near Boston."'"^ Tradition adds to 
this statement of fact, that just before the troops entered the village, a 
man, meanly dressed, but otherwise of gentlemanly appearance, called 
at William Edmonston's and said that Col. ^Morgan was coming. He 
went on and stopped at Mr. William Ellison's, and there said that he 
was Col. Morgan. The troops soon arrived and with them Col. Morgan, 
The deception practiced by the stranger incensed the colonel and he 
handed him over to 'his troops, who tarred and feathered him without 
even the form of a trial. The boys of New Windsor enjoyed the mat- 
ter heartily, and had no trouble in obtaining from Mrs. Rachel Cooper 
(who lived in the village and sold cake and beer), a pillow of feathers 
for the purpose. 

SEIZURE OF SALT. 

An incident of a different character appears in a communication from 
Col. John Hathorn, of the precinct of Goshen, under date of Dec. 2d, 
1776, in which he writes : "Note your memorialist had a small quantity 
of salt in Mr. William Ellison's store at New Windsor; that there was 
not more than he had engaged to his neighbors, and was obliged to keep 
for his own use ; that a large number of men, whose names your memor- 
ialist can not discover, without any legal authority, have taken out of 
said store, as well the sale of your memoralist (except one bushel), 
as of other persons, and that your memorialist is in the greatest want of 



*0ol. Hist., VIII, 597. These troops were the famous Morg-an Riflemen, com- 
manded by Daniel Morgan, "a man of powerful frame and stallvvart courage." A 
large proportion of them were Irishmen. Upon their breasts they wore the mtrtto, 
"Liberty or Death." Wonderful stories of fheir exploits went to England; tjhe 
written record of their services forms one of the brigihtest pages of American 
history- 



68 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



salt for his own use; that unless a check is put to such unjustifiable pro- 
ceedings, your memorialist apprehends, from the seemingly disorderly 
spirit at present prevailing among the common people, his property, as 
well as those of others, will be very insecure." 

A TEA RIOT, 

Tea caused more trouble apparently than salt. Capt. Jonathan 
Lawrence was in command of Fort Constitution ; his wife remained in 
charge of his store in New Windsor. The Congress of New York had 
resolved that no person should charge to exceed six shillings a pound 
for tea. The local committee complained, "that Mrs. Jonathan Lawrence 
sold tea at eight shillings per pound, and that her husband made Fort 
Constitution a depot for that useless herb." The Congress replied (June 
14, 1776), stating that "Capt. Lawrence, with all the commissioners at 
the fort, are discharged from their superintending. We are surprised at 
his conduct, and make no doubt you will treat him and all others ac- 
cording to their demerits after a fair hearing." 

Tea at six shillings the people seemed determined to have. In July, 
1777, James Caldwell and John Maley, of Albany, purchased tea in 
Philadelphia, and in transporting it had occasion to pass through New 
Windsor. Stopping at the tavern of Isaac Schultz for the night, the 
contents of their wagon was noised abroad. A mob of men and women 
speedily collected, and, under the plea that the tea was held at a price 
higher than six shillings, seized the load and sold it to themselves at 
that price. For the time being the town was supplied with tea. The 
Council of Safety of the State disapproved of the transaction, and de- 
cided that the owners of the tea "could obtain satisfaction for the injury 
in the ordinary court of law ; " and this was all the remuneration, prob- 
ably, that they ever received. 

DOMINIE ANNAN. 

The incidents already quoted give an inside view of life in New Wind- 
sor village. If it is not very flattering, it is at least refreshing to meet 
witli them, as they serve to break up the current of Revolutionary litera- 
ture which usually flows in the channel of patriotic devotion and heroic 
deeds. We turn from them, however, to our favorite district. Little 
Britain, where we find the following in reference to the Rev. Robert 
Annan of the Little Britain Church: "In the fall of 1779, the people 
of Rhode Island, by reason of the great scarcity of supplies and pro- 
visions, applied to our State for aid. The legislature, however, refused 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 69 

to send public stores, as they were needed at home. Meetings were held 
in several towns, for the purpose of raising supplies by subscription and 
among them, one in Hanover precinct. It was attended by many prudent 
people, who seemed to agree with the legislature, that the surplus supplies 
should not be sent out of the State. There was a discussion conducted 
with fai'-ness and ability on both sides, but it seemed likely to be interm- 
inable. At this juncture Annan sprang up and cut the matter short by 
exclaiming: "As many as are in favor of assisting the people of Rhode 
Island and the cause of liberty, follow me ! " Leaving the house 'he was 
surprised to find almost the entire assemblage at his heels." 

BOY SOLDIERS. 

The number of mere boys who found their way into the army 
was by no means inconsiderable. Lieutenant Robert Burnet and 
Lieut. /Vlexander Clinton were but fifteen years old when they were 
commissioned. Aside from this general fact, it is related that there was 
a regularly organized company of boys from twelve to fifteen years of 
age in Little Britain who were "soldier boys" in earnest, having been 
several times on duty as home guards. The Hessian prisoners from Sar- 
atoga en route for Easton, Pa., passed through Little Britain anl camp- 
ed at ]\Iajor Telford's tavern, then opposite the Burnet homestead. The 
prisoners were in charge of a company of Morgan's riflemen, who, in 
quest of rest themselves, turned the prisoners over to the custody of the 
boys, who guarded them during the night. During the night one of the 
Hessian women died and was buried in the morning west of Major Tel- 
ford's house. It was a long-remembered funeral by the boys. The 
woman's companion could only bury her and move on. It was a phase 
of war that to them was new, and for years the lone grave by the apple 
tree received perhaps as much regard as though its inmate had been to 
them kindred. 



MQ History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER VH. 



revolutionary localities. 

Washington's Headquarters at New Windsor. — The headquarters of 
Washington at New Windsor were at the EUison homestead, then CoL 
Thomas ElHson, and subsequently of his son, William Ellison. The house 
was torn down some years ago. It stood on the brow of the hill on the 
east side of the highway immediately south of the line of the village of 
New Windsor. Washington came here in June, 1779, and again in the 
fall of 1780, where he remained until the summer of 1781. The leading 
events in the army, during this period, were the capture of Stony 
Point, by W^ayne, in July, 1779 and the majiagement of the details of the 
campaign of 1781, which closed with the victory at Yorktown in October 
of the latter year. 

It was while Washington was here that Cooper, in "The Spy," rep- 
resents him under the name of Harper, as having crossed the Hudson 
at night to visit HarWey Birch in his cabin in the mountains south of 
Fishkill Village. It was also while here that the traditional attempt at his 
abduction occurred. This story w,hich was given no little credence lo- 
cally, was that he was invited to dine with one Col. Ettrick, who lived in 
"The Vale" on the north side of Ouassaick Creek. Ettrick had not taken 
any part in the war, but his feelings were with the mother country. His 
daughter, on the other hand, was strongly enlisted in favor of the colo- 
nies. She had overheard a conversation of some tories with her father, 
in which it was proposed to carry ofif Washington as a prisoner. Soon 
after this her father invited 'him to dine, and she, suspecting that the plan 
was then to be consummated, went to Washington and revealed her ap- 
prehensions. Washington accepted the invitation, but before he left for 
the entertainment he ordered a detachment of his Life Guard, dressed 
in English uniform, to watch the house and make their appearance early 
in the evening. As they approached, Ettrick, taking them for tory 
troops, said to his guest, "General, I believe you are my prisonei."' 
Washington cast his eye over the Guard, and rephed, "I believe not, sirj 
but you are mine." Ettrick, after having been kept a prisoner for a 
short time, was, at the intercession of his daughter, permitted to leave 
the country. He settled in Nova Scotia. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



71 



The circumstances which led to the estrangement of Washington and 
Hamilton, resulting in the withdrawal of Hamilton from his position as 
aid-de-camp, occurred Tiere in 1781. It is referred to simply to correct 
the impression which prevails that Hamilton was the chosen counselor of 
Washington; that he and not Washington was the author of the reply 
of the latter to the Newburgh Letters, and that he and not Washington 
was the author of many of the pubHc papers of Washington, including 
his Farewell Address. The facts are that after the episode at the Elli- 
son house, Was'hington had no intercourse with Hamilton, whatever, 
except such as became necessary in their official relations as members of 
the Constitutional Convention of 1786, and subsequently while Hamilton 
was Secretary of the Treasury, during the first and part of the second 
terms of Was'hington's administration. The story, as related by Hamilton 
in a letter to Gen. Schuyler, under date of "Headquarters, New Windsor, 
February 18, 1781," is as follows: "Since I had the pleasure of writing 
you last, an unexpected change 'has taken place in my situation. I am 
no longer a member of the General's family. This information will sur- 
prise you, and the manner of the change will surprise you more. Two 
days ago, the General and I passed each other on the stairs. He told me 
he wanted to speak to me. I answered that I would wait upon him im- 
mediately. I went below and delivered Mr. Tilghman a letter to be sent 
to the Commissary, containing an order of a pressing and interesting 
nature. Returning to the General, I was stopped on the way by the 
Marquis de LaFayette, and we conversed together about a minute on a 
matter of business. He can testify how impatient I was to get back, and 
that I left him in a manner which, but for our intimacy would have been 
more than abrupt. Instead of finding the General, as is usual, in his room 
I met him at tlie head of the stairs, where, accosting me in an angry 
tone, "Colonel Hamilton," said he, "you have kept me waiting at the 
head of the stairs these ten minutes. I must tell you, sir, you treat me 
with disrespect." I replied without petulency, but with decision, "I am 
not conscious of it, sir ; but since you have thought it necessary to tell 
me so, we part." Ver\' well, sir," said he, "if it be your (Choice." or 
something to that effect, and we separated. In less than an hour after- 
wards, Tilghman* came to me in the General's name, assuring me of 
his desire, in a candid conversation, to heal a difference n^liich could not 
have happened except in a moment of passion." This interview Hamilton 
declined, and excused the step which he had taken from his dislike for 
the ofifice of an aid-de-camp "as having a kind of personal dependence."* 

Tilgham was Washington's favorite aide-de-camp, and the only 



officer of whom he ever spoke in eulogy. 

*W'ords of Alexander Hamilton by J. C. Hamilton, Vol. I, 211. 



«2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

In regard to the occupation of the house by Washington in 1779, the 
following note has been preserved among the papers of Col. Thomas 

Ellison : 

HeadqUiarters, Smi'tih's Clove, 
aist June, 1779— V2 past 5 P. M. 

"His Excellency, ^the Conumander-in- Chief, ithinks proper to accept your house 
fas iheadqwarters, from the description I gave him, on my return from thence last 
might. He, with (his guards, set off immediately and ihis baggage will follow. 

Your moat dbt- H'umble Servt., 

C. GIBBS." 

Gibb was then the captain commandant of Washington's Guard 
Lossing fixes the date "June 23d," but the notes of Capt. Gibb, dated on 
the 2 1 St, s^ms to determine the date as the afternoon of that day. Dur- 
ing the winter of 1781, Mrs. Washington was with her husband. 

Plum Point. — Plum Podnt, the site of the first European settlement in 
the present county of Orange,* lies a short distance below the Ellison 
house and forms the North bank of Murderer's Creek, at its con- 
fluence with the Hudson. It is a singular formation, having the 
appearance of artificial construction. The theory in regard to it 
is that in the convulsions attending the dissolution of the glacial period, 
it was pushed out from its original bed by the pressure of water and 
ice. It has an area of about eighty acres, approached over a natural 
causeway. On the southeast side was located, in the early part of the 
war, a battery of fourteen guns, designed to assist in maintaining the ob- 
structions to the navigation of the river which, at this point, consisted of 
a chevaux-de-frise stretching across to PolLopel's Island, which is seen 
throug^h the opening in the trees. The battery was maintained during 
the war, for the purpose originally designed and for the protection of 
the works in the vicinity. It was known in official orders as "Captain 
Machin's Battery at New Windsor." Outlines of its embrasures may yet 
be seen, and can be approached by permdssion from the Verplanck resi- 
dence or by the old army road which runs around the face of the hill 
from the Nicol homestead. 

LaFayette^s Headqum-ters—Tht Brewster or Williams bouse at Mood- 
na, which is credited with occupancy by LaFayette, is just beyond the 
paper mills on the south siide of the Forge Hill road. Of itsi occupancy by 
LaFayette there is only traditionary evidence, at best it was so occupied 
during the winter of i78o-'8i, while Washington had his headquarters 
at the Ellison house. It will be remembered that LaFayette was absent 
in France while Washington was at Newburgh. The bouse has been in 

♦Ante N. — (See Patents and Front Settlements as put in page w'hen printed). 




MACHIN'S BATTERY-PLUM POINT 

Battery of fourteen guns, erected in 1778, for defense and to cover 
chevaux-de-frise in channel of Hudson River, from Murderer's Creek to 
Pollopel's Island. Plum Point was the site of the first Puropean settlement 
in Orange County. 



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History of The Town of New Windsor. 73 



the occupation of tenants for several years and is decaying. The vault 
in the cellar is said to have been the temporary place of deposit of the 
rtioney known as the "Dutch loan," but on what authority does not ap- 
pear. ]\Ir. Brewster is referred to on another page. A house on the 
Forge Hill road, erected by Samuel Brewster in 1763, was probably 
built for Mr. Brewster's son, Timothy Brewster, who removed after the 
war to Woodbridge, N. J. 

Edmonston House. — The Edmonston house at \''airs Gate is said to 
have been occupied by Generals Gates and St. Clair, of which there is 
no evidence, and also, in part at least, by the medical stafif. That it was 
connected with the amiy in some way is more than probable ; die head- 
quarters of the medical stafif, however, were in the James Qinton house 
in the village of NeAV Windsor, as appears by letters of Mrs. Clinton. 
The hospital of the army was in the vicinity. Dr. Thacher writes, under 
date of April 30, 1781 : "I accompanied Dr. John Hart to New Windsor 
to pay our respects to Dr. John Cochrane, who is lately promotea to the 
•office of Director-General of the hospitals of the United States, as suc- 
cessor to Dr. Shippen, resigned." On the 15th Dec, 17S2, after the anny 
returned here, he writes: "Dined with my friends, Drs. Townsend, 
Eastis and Adams, at the hospital, in company with Generals Gates and 
Howe and their aides, Dr. Cochrane, our Surgeon -General, and several 
other officers. Our entertainment was ample and elegant." The loca- 
tion of the hospital is shown on the map of the camp-ground, given else- 
where. The Edmonston house is of stone and is said to have been erect- 
ed in 1755. It stands a short distance west of the point where the 
"Short-Cut" intersects the Ncwburgh Branch of the Eric railroad. 

Fall's House or "Woods" — The Fall's house. Little Britain Square, 
or "Woods" as marked on the DeWitt map, was occupied by Gov. Geo. 
Clinton, as commander-in-chief of the military forces of the State, for a 
short time in October, 1777. Clinton and his brother, Gen. James Qin- 
ton were in command at the forts in the Highlands at the time of their 
reduction, October 7, 1777. The former was then a resident of the 
house subsequently of Capt. Charles Ludlow a short distance north of 
New Windsor village. On the fall of the forts his family made hasty re- 
treat to the interior, and found temporary refuge at the residence of 
Mrs. Falls.* The troops w'ho escaped from the forts as well as the 
militia of the district that had not been engaged, were rendezvoused in 
the vicinity and re-organized prior to their march for the defence of 
Kingston. While waiting for his men to come in. on the loth of Oc- 



*Ante p — (See Falls family). 



A 



74 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



tober, at noon, a horseman came near the camp, where, being challenged-" 
by a sentinel, he replied, "I am a friend and wish to see General Clin- 
ton." On being conducted to the Governor's headquarters he discovered 
that he had made a mistake. He had been sent by Sir Henry Clinton, of 
the British forces with a message to General Burgoyne, and after passing 
the Highlands had encountered troops in British uniform. Presuming 
that Sir Henry's forces had moved forward, he drew near the camp only 
to learn that he was within the lines of the Colonists, some of whom were 
clothed in British uniform which had been captured from a transport 
some time previously and had not been redyed. When he discovered his 
mistake he was observed to swallow something. To recover whatever 
it might be. Dr. Moses Higby, who was at fhe camp, administered a 
powerful emetic. This brought from him a small silver ball of an oval 
form sihut with a screw in the middle. "Though closely watched," writes 
Clinton, "he had the art to conceal it a second time. I made him believe 
T had taken one Capt. Campbell,* another messenger who was out on 
the same business, that I learned from him all I wanted to know, and 
demanded the ball on pain of being hung up instantly and cut open to- 
search for it. This broug'lit it forth." The ball was found to contain the 
following : 

Fort Monitgoimery, Oot. 8, 1777 

" Nous y voice, (we come), and notihing between us but Gates. I sinoerdy 
hope this little success oif ours may fecirita'te your operations. In answer to your 
letter of the 2Sth Sept., by C. C, I shall only say, I cannot presume to order, or 
even advise, for reasons obvious. I heartily wish you success- "Gen. Burgoyne. 
Faithfully yours, H. Clinton." 

Taylor was placed in custody, and on the 14th a general court martial- 
met for his trial, the proceedings of which are recorded as follows : 

"At a general co'urt 'martial, held at the heights of New Windsor, the I4tih 
October, 1777, by order oif Brigadier-General George Clinton, w'hereof Colonel' 
Lewis DuB'ois was present. 

Captain Gillespie, Captain Conklin, 

Captain ElHs, Captain Wood, 

Captain Wyllis, Captain Hamstrack, 

Captain Watson, Captain Lee, 

Captain Savage, Captain Huested, 

Major Huntington, Major Bradford, 

Daniel Taylor, charged with lurking albout the camp as a spy from the enemy, 
confined by order of General Clinton, was brought before said court, and to the 
above crime the prisoner plead not guilty. But confessed his being an Express 
from General (Sir Henry) Clinton to Burgoyne when taken and that he had 
been employed as an E.xpress also from General Burgoyne to General Clinton, i.nd 
was taken in the camp of the army of the United States, near New Windsor, by 
Lieut. Howe. Taylor likewise confessed his be^ng a first Lieutenant in Captain 
Stewart's Company in the >Jinth Regiment of the British troops, and but one man 

^Capt. Caimpbell succeeded in passing the Aimerican lines, and readhed Bur- 
goyne wifh a siniiilar message on the i6th October. 








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History of The Town of New Windsor. 



75^ 



in company when taken. The prisoner pleaded that he was not employed as a spy, 
but on the contrary was charged both by General Clinton and Burgoyne not to 
come near our camp; but meeting accidentally with some of our troops in British 
uniform, die was thereby deceived and discovered himself to them. 

The court, after considering the case, were of opinion that the prisoner is- 
gtiilty of the charge brought against him, and adjudged to suffer death, to be 
hanged at such time and place as the General shall direct- 

A true copy of the proceedings; Tesit. 

LEWIS Dubois, President. 

Gov. Clinton's little army had m the meantime been re-inforced by a 
detachment from Gen. Putnam and taken up its march toward Kingston. 
It was not until Marbletown was reached tfliat Qinton liad time to re- 
view the decision of the court martial. On the i6th he approved the sen- 
tence and ordered it to be airried into execution "when the troops are 
paraded and before they march to-morrow morning." The execution, 
however, did not take place until the i8th. Taylor's ultimate fate as well 
as an account of Clinton's march to Kingston are set forth in the fol- 
lowing diary-: 

This diary is said to 'have been written by Nathaniel Webb, an officer in the 
Second New York Regiment, and tihat the original is or was in possession of Dr. 
Ezekiel Webb of Elmira. 

"Oct. 6, 1777 — 'Monday — ^Tlie shipping came opposite Dunderlxirrack. About 
2 o'clock p. m. ye enemy began ye attack on Fort Montgomery and Clinton, and 
between daylight and dark ya carried ye garrison by storm. 

"Colonel Meigs, with reinforcements arrived at ye ferry, two miles above ye 
fort, just as ye enemy prevailed. Immediately upon ye imisfortune, our people 
burnt ye ships Montgoimery and Congress, and ye Shark, a row galley — and blew 
up Fort Constitution. Govr and B. Genl. James Clinton, Col Lamb, Col- DuBois, 
Mr. Gano, Dr. Cook, and a principal part of officers and men made yar escape un- 
der cover of ye night. There were not more than 600 men to defend ye two- 
forts against near 3,000. > 

7. Tuesday — Army marched towards Fishkill- 

8. Wednesday — Arrived at Fislikill about noon and the 'Detachment with Col. 
Webb's Regt. marched to ye River, and crost at New Windsor- 

II. Saturday — Proceeded to Little Britain Headquarters. Troops encamped 
Major Bradford arrived in camp, to ye no small joy of ye Detachment. 

15- Wednesday — The sihipping past by ye chicvaux-dc-fricc early ys morning 
— fhe troops ordered to march. Col. DuBois, ye train of artillery and militia ad- 
vanced- Col. Webb and 'Major Bradford brought up ye rear, and marcht to- 
Sihongom and put up- 

16. Thursday — Troops marcht early ys morning. The Gov'r sent us word 
yt ye enemy were within 7 miles of Kingston last nigiht, 12 o'c-, and ordered us on 
wilfh all speed- We forced our march to Rosendol s creek, within 8 miles of ye 
town of Kingston, alias Esopus when we discovered ye smoke of ye buildings on 
fire by ye enemy. Finding we were too late to save ye town, we soon wheeled 
off to ye left, and reacht Mart)le Town. 'We bare marcht about thirty miles this 
day, having packs carried in wagons most of ye way. The people bad got most 
of their goods remoA'ed but several families suffered exceedingly by the fire. 
There was little or no resistance made to ye enemy's landing. Ya immediately, 
upon firing ye town, run back to ye water in great fright. They fired many pla- 
toons, but had not ye luck to kill anybody, except a Tory prisoner, who happened 
in their way as we are informed. 

A notable instance this of ye English Honour. Courage and Magnanimity — to at- 
tack a defenseless town and a few women and children, with a body of 700 men with 
all solemn pomp of war. Surely such troops might be a terror to ye world, for if 



76 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

no power gbould oppose them, they may yet burn half ye towns and cities of ye 
earth. Yes, (most gallant Gen'l Vaun, your name will be handed down to poster- 
ity, and puMished to ye -world, wiitih many singular marks of honour. 

17. Friday — Army maroht to Hurley, a precinct in Kingston, and encamped. 
The enemy advanced up ye River, burning Wherever they dare land yar troops. 
Ys evening we have certain intelligence yt Gen. Burgoyne and his army of 5,000 
men have just submitted prisoners upon articles of capitulation' — an event most 
happy, and demands the highest thanks of all Americans to ye God of armies. 

18. Saturday — Mr. Taylor, a spy, lately taken in Little Britain, was hung here. 
The 'Rev. Mr- Romain and imyself attended him yesterday, and I have spent the 
morning in discoursing to him, and attended him at ye gallows. He did not ap- 
pear to be either a political or a gospel penitent-"* 

Lossing, in his Field-Book, states — not without authority it is pre- 
sumed — that Major Armstrong, the aufhor of the "Newburgh Letters," 
had his quarters at the Falls house, and that there those in the secret 
held their private conferences. At that time the ihouse was occupied as 
a tavern by one Woods, (qr.' CorneHus Wood), and was used to its 
capacity by army officers. A fact estabhshed of record is that Col. 
Barber, Deputy Inspector-General under Baron Steuben, 'had his quar- 
ters here at the time of the accident by w'hicli he lost his life in visiting 
the cantonment of the army. The property was the homestead of Samuel 
B. Moores in later years. It has suffered little modification or change. 
One room is pointed out as having been occupied by Washington on 
several occasions and a curious closet therein as having been finished in 
its present form by a mechanical officer of the army. 

The Clinton Homestead. — The homestead erected by Col. Charles 
Clinton the birthplace of Gen. James Clinton and of Gen. and Gov. Geo. 
Clinton, and possibly of Gov. DeWitt Clinton, was in occupancy by Gen. 
James Clinton, his mother and family during the war and at all times 
tlhe seat of movements connected with the army and with the politics and 
history of the State. The buildings — ^there were five oi them in connec- 
tion — were removed, with the exception of one of them, some years ago. 
Substantially nothing but the historic associations of the place remain. 
The story of its occupants is told elsewhere in these pages. The original 
of the five buildings was erected in 1730, of stone and rough boards, 
consisted only of one large room fifteen or twenty feet square, with two 
small windows and a door in front and a door and a small window in the 
rear. A large fire-place occupied the north end of the room, and an 
op>en chamber covered the \\4iole to the roof. To this was added later a 
building on t!he right with one door and three windows, and to this was 
again added, on the extreme right, a kitchen with a door and one win- 
dow. Then followed, in 1763, an addition to the original building on the 



♦From letters found in Taylor's possession lit was inferred that he was a res- 
ident of Kinderhook and had enlisted in 'tJhe serviices of the King. His execution 
as a spy wias handily justified by tJhe facts connected with ihis arrest. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. nn 

left, of two stories, and lastly an addition on tlie extreme left which was 
far more pretentious than any of its predecessors. It was erected in 
1791, but by whom is uncertain. It had a piazza on three sides, and was 
of good finisli. The older parts would scarcely be regarded as habitable 
at the present time, their ceilings were low and their appointments ex- 
ceedingly limited. Gen. James Clinton, the last Clinton, owner and oc- 
cupant, erected a more modern structure on the Little Britain road, and 
occupied it at the time of his death. The CUnton burial ground was on 
an elevation nearly opposite the house. In it were also interred the re- 
mains of many relatives and friends. The plot was enclosed in later 
years by Hon. James G. Clinton, with a substantial stone wall with cop- 
ing and iron gates, but was subsequently suffered by neglect. This condi- 
tion led Mr. John A. Gray, of New York, grandson of the second wife of 
Gen. CHnton, to remove the remains of the Qintons and their principal 
connections to Woodlawn Cemetery, w'here their resting place is now 
marked by a substantial monument. 

Hainilto>is Tavern. — The district known as "The Square" was fam- 
ous in the history of the town for years anterior to the revolution ; it is 
more particularly referred to in another connection. Conspicuous in its 
revolutionary history was the hostelry of Mrs. Sarah Hamilton, which 
stood on the southeast corner of the roads which here cross each other 
No special assignment of officers to it is of record, but the general fact, 
attested by tradition, is that it was so occupied, and moreover that it was 
the scene of more army life of a given character than any of the numer- 
ous hostelries of the town. The building was destroyed by fire some years 
ago. On the opposite, southwest, corner is a building which is one of 
the somewhat numerous number said to have been occupied by LaFay- 
ette. 

Mr. John Ellison House or "Knox's Headquarters." — A short dis- 
tance northwest of Aloodna, via the old Forge Hill road, and on the old 
Blooming Grove and New Windsor turnpike, stands the house and es- 
tate for many years in the occupancy of John Ellison and his descend- 
ants, but erected by his father Col. Thomas Ellison, the main building 
in 1754, as appears by contract with Wm. Bull, the builder, and the eas- 
tern part at an earlier date, probably in 1734. The main building is of 
stone, with hig^h ceilings, wainscoting, dormer windows, heavy sash and 
small panes of glass ; the eastern section of wood, with low ceilings and 
large fireplace. The rooms in the main building are exceedingly sub- 
stantial and antique ; in the older part a bedroom opening from the kit- 
chen has a trap-door and vault which was no doubt the " strong-box " 



y^ History of The Town of New Windsor. 

of the proprietor. The house formerly fronted the old road leading 
from the village of New Windsor to Goshen, whidh then ran in front 
of the house. The turnpike changed the line of this road and runs in 
the rear of the house leaving the old front unexposed except on visi- 
tation. South of the house at the edge of a remarkable ravine the 
proprietor had a grist-mill of wide repute but now resmoved, but the 
dashing waters of Silver Stream through the ravine to the Moodna and 
the "twin lakes " of the old mill-pond remain. 

The building is locally known as "Knox's Headquarters," it having 

been occupied by Gen. Knox at different times in 1779, '80, '81, '82. Gen. 

Greene, and Cols. Wadsworth and Biddle were also quartered here, 

and ultimately ('82, '83) it was the headquarters of Major-General 

•Gates, then in command of the cantonment.* 

Aside from these general facts, the house has a history of interest 
in connection with the social life of the officers of the army who were 
stationed within its walls and in its vicinity. They were mainly young 
men, and many of them with bright wives who found here the conven- 
iences for the entertainments which they prized. Tradition affirms that 
on one occasion the brilliant Mrs. Knox gave an entertainment here at 
which Washington was present and opened the dance with Maria Col- 
den, who is said to have been a daughter of Cadwallader Colden, jr., of 
Coldenham, that among the guests were Gitty Wynkoop and Sally Jan- 
sen of Kingston, Who were great belles in their day, and that a French 
officer, who was present, gallantly inscribed with his diamond ring the 
names of the trio on one of the small window panes in the sash of the 
principal room. The glass with the graven names remained in the sash 
-to attest the truth of the story for over one hundred years and until re- 
moved to insure its continued preservation during a period when the 
property was not occupied. 

The question whether Washington danced will never perhaps be set- 
tled to the satisfaction of every one. Gen. Greene, in 1779, writes to a 
friend in regard to a ball which he attended the night before : "His Ex- 
<;ellency and Mrs. Greene danced three hours without once sitting down." 
Mrs. Alex. Hamilton, on the contrary, informed Historian Lossing that 
Washington never danced; that he often attended balls and parties on in- 
vitation, and sometimes zvalked the figures, but that she never saw him 

*Certificate of the occupation by Genl. Knox and Cols. Wadswortii and Bid- 
die i-9 preserved in Wasiiington's Headquarters. Occupation by Genl. Gates rests 
on the statement ai Ohastellux, written in December, 1782 : " After viewing the 
barracks, I regained the high road ; but passiing hefore Genl. Gate's housic, the 
same that Genl. Knox occupied in 1780, I stopped sometime to make a visit of po- 
liteness." 




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History of The Town of New Windsor. 70 

.attempt to dance. The late Mr. Robert R. Ellison stated in reference to 
the party at Mrs. Knox's: "Maria Colden and Sallie Jansen were rela- 
tives of John Ellison, the former througli his sister's marriage with Cad- 
wallader Colden, Jr., and the latter through his wife, Catharine Jansen, 
of Kingston. On the occasion of the ball at Knox's Headquarters, 
Washington did not open the dance with Maria Colden, but, flie doors 
being thrown open, promenaded with her through the rooms. This has 
been the tradition in our family, members of which were present, and has 
been confirmed by others who were witnesses." The traditions in the 
old army families of New Windsor and Newburgh, however, strongly 
confirm the testimony of Gen. Greene. That Washington danced in his 
more active years may be accepted as a fact and not the least of the me- 
mories of this ancient mansion is the picture of his army life which the 
ball at Mrs. Knox's afifords. 

The Camp Ground and Temple. — It would be as difficult to fix the 
periods at which some part of New Windsor was not occupied by either 
militia or regular troops during the revolution, as to specify the times 
when it was so occupied or by what particular bodies of men. Aside 
from the rendezvous of its several militia companies, it is certain that 
at least a portion of the regiment of Col. James Clinton, in the Canada 
campaign of 1775, was recruited at Little Britain; that in 1776 the bat- 
tery at Plum Point was mounted; in 1777, Gov. George Clinton re-or- 
ganized, at the Falls House, the militia and fugitives from the Highland 
Forts; in 1779-80 nine brigades of the Continental army were encamp- 
ed here, and other brigades and regiments in 1780, 'Si, 'S2 and '83. The 
precise grounds on which these enKrampments were located, with the 
exception of those of 1782, '83, are equally buried in oblivion. In regard 
to the last, however, the record is dear. With tilie exception of Lamb's 
artillery, wliich came here in July, 1782, and subsequently removed to 
West Point, the right and left wings of the army, wth the exception 
lof the Connecticut regiments, were cantoned on both sides of Silver 
Stream, in the vicinity of the John Ellison house, which became the head- 
quarters of Gen. Gates in command, in October, 1782, and remained 
there until June 20, 1783, a period of about seven months. The "main 
army," as it was designated, had been concentrated at Verplanck's 
Point in September, '82, to bid adieu to its French allies, enroute to 
Boston for return to France, and that service having been perfonned, the 
left wing, under Major-General Heath, and tlie right wing under Major- 
General Gates, broke camp on the 23rd of October, crossed the Hudson 
at West Point on the 27th, and reached the camp groimd on the 28th, 
The right wing followed a few days later. Huts and barracks were 



8o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



erected, and also a building known as The Temple for general army 
purposes and public worship. "In this cantonment," writes Heath, "the 
army spent the winter \ery comfortably, and it proved to be their last 
winter quartets." 

The points of special interest in connection with the cantonment are : 

1. The precise organizations w^hich were embraced in the cantonment j 

2. Their location ; 3. The character of the barracks which they occu- 
pied; 4. The public building or The Temple; and 5. The disbandment 
of the army. 

1. The troops designated in official orders whic'h were cantoned here 
were : Maryland detachment. New Jersey regiment and New Jersey bat- 
talion, ist and 2d New York regiments ; New Hampshire regiment and 
New Hampshire battalion, and the ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th, 7th and 8th 
Massachusetts regiments, the whole representing a force of six to eight 
thousand men. The cantonment was under command of Major-Gener- 
al Gates during fhe winter of '82-3, with headquarters at the John Elli- 
son house in its immediate vicinity. 

2. The location of several lines is shown on the accompaning official 
map of the cantonment, except in the case of the Maryland detachment. 
Reference to the map will show that the "2d M. Brig." was barracked 
on the south part of the Heron farm east of the Forge Hill road beside a 
small stream of water, and the "ist and 3d M. Brigs." on the McGill 
farm west of that road. The New York, New Jersey and New Hamp- 
shire lines were west of the swamp, on "Rice Meadows," through the 
center of which flow the waters of Silver Stream, erronously marked 
"Beaver Dam." The two divisions of the camp were united by a cause- 
way across the stream and swamps. The line of the barracks can still be 
traced on the west side of the swamp, but those on the east have disap- 
peared, as has also the causeway. The hospital was on the Major Mor- 
ton place, now (1892), of Judge Fancher. It was no doubt erected in 
the early part of the war. Surveys from the "Brewster" house, which 
remains, would no doubt locate tvtvy line almost precisely. 

3. The character of the barracks and the appearance of the canton- 
ment are equally oi specific record. Marquis de Chastellux, who visited 
Washington in Newburgh, Dec. 5th, '82, writes: "On the 7th, I took 
leave of General Washington. Col. Tighlman accompanied me on horse- 
back to show me the road, and barracks that serve as winter quarters 
for the American army, which were not quite finished, though the season 
was far advanced and the cold very severe. They are spacious, healthy 
and well built, and consist in a row of log houses containing two cham- 
bers, each inhabited by eight soldiers when complete, w'hich makes five 




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History of The Town of New Windsor. 8i 



to six affectives ; a second range of barracks is destined for the non- 
commissioned officers. These barracks are placed in the middle of the 
woods on fhe slope of the hill, and within reach of the water. As the 
great object is a healthy and convenient situation, the army are on sever- 
al hills not exactly parallel zvith each other. But it will appear singular 
in Europe, that these barracks should be built without a bit of iron, not 
even nails, which would render the work tedious and difficult were not 
the Americans very expert in putting wood together. After viewing the 
barracks I regained the main road." While the description is sufficient- 
ly specific it will be remembered that the word huts is frequently em- 
ployed in current histories ; but huts, i. e. "little walls made of stones 
heaped up, the intervals filled in with earth kneaded with water, or simp- 
ly with mud, a few planks for a roof, an outside chimney and a small 
door at the side of the chimney," although in frequent use were not con- 
sitructed here. This is also the testimony of Gen. Heath, who describes 
the cantonment as "regular and beautiful," and is further confirmed by 
the drawings made by William Tarball, a soldier of the Seventh Massa- 
chusetts regiment recently recovered and fully attested. The cantonment 
was literally a city of log houses in the woods, the counterpart of which 
has never existed in the history 'of armies or of nations. 

4. The public building, or The Temple of Virtue as it was familiarly 
known in the army, was located on \Vhat is now designated Temple 
Hill, on the farm of William L. McGill, and its site marked by a shaft 
or pyramid of field stones laid up for that purpose — a crude monument 
perhaps but one in keeping with the circumstances which it commemo- 
rates. Though not shown on the map of the cantonment, not being 
contemporaneous with it in date, the location is thoroughly established 
by tradition unbroken since 1783, and inferentially by the location of the 
lines of the encampment. Gen. Heath writes in regard to it: "Upon an 
eminence the troops erected a building handsomely finished with a 
spacious hall, sufficient to contain a brigade of troops on Lord's Day, 
for public worship, wit!h an orchestra at one end; the vault of the ceil- 
ing was arched, at each end of the hall were two rooms conveniently 
situated for the issuing of general orders, for the sitting of Boards of 
Officers, Court Martials, etc., and an office and store for the Quar- 
termaster and Commissary's departments. On the top was a cup- 
aio, and flag staff on which a flag was hoisted occasionally for a signai 
"1, c." How this description came to be overlooked by Mr. Toss- 
ing in preparing his Field Book and a misleading pictoral representa- 
tive given of a building at West Point occupied for Masonic purposes, 
cannot be explained, but happily the error has been corrected not only 



82 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



by the quotation from Gen. Heath, but by the recovery of a drawing by 
William Tarbell, of whom notice has already been made, a fac simile 
copy of which is given herewith, which represents the building as a 
large and substantial structure, resting upon a stone foundation rising 
four or five feet above grade to the window sills. The windows were 
perhaps eight feet high and the Whole height from the ground to the 
eaves from fifteen to twenty feet. The windows shown are nine in 
number (one side only represented), five of whidh are on the south and 
four on tlie north, with a doorway near the center, on either side of 
which are two Corinthian colums surmounted by a cupalo and flag- 
staff. The building above the foundation was clearly a framed structure 
with a steep shingled roof. The Corinthian columns and the tessellated 
pavement are unmistakable emblems of the Masonic Fraternity. Evi- 
dently they were not employed as ornaments merely, but as indicating 
the connection of that order as well as the army proper, with the struc- 
ture and its uses. It may well be doubted whether there is in the nation 
a building more invested with important revolutionary events than this 
— no spot more hallowed by patriotic associations. The only celebration 
that Washington ever ordered was held here on the 14th April, 1783; 
here and here alone is it noted that the army, "witli voices and instru- 
ments," rolled Billings' anthem, "No King but God ! " bold and strong 
against the sky; here that the hopes of monardhial politicians were 
crushed by the reply of Wasliington to the "Newburgh Letters," and 
here that "The Society of the Cincinnati" was organized to perpetuate 
not only the friendships of officers and of nations, but to maintain for- 
ever a nation on the broad basis of freedom and independence. 

5. In the construction of barracks and a public building it was evi- 
dently the expectation tlhat the cantonment would have a longer con- 
tinuance than it had. Peace, unseen in November, 1782, began to send 
out its harbingers during the winter, and in April came the announce- 
ment of the exchange of preliminary articles which awaited only the con- 
currence of France. The certainty that this concurrence would follow 
led to the passage of orders by Congress to issue furloughs to men who 
had enlisted for the war, under which whole regiments marched from 
the cantonment, never to be again called into service. The Maryland 
detachment went out on the 5th of June ; the New Jersey line on the 
6th, and on the same day, the New York regiments marched to Poug'h- 
keepsie and there surrendered their drums and battle-flags^ to Gov. Clin- 
ton ; the New Hampshire line on the 7th and the Massachusetts troops 
on the 8tb and 9th. In every direction the roads were filled with veter- 
ans returning to their homes with well-earned honors but in poverty. 






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History of The Town of New Windsor. 83 

On the nth of June The Temple was riven by lightning- w^hile its bund- 
ers were departing, and on Monday, June 22d, under Washington's or- 
der, the "short term" men were mardhed to West Point and the sick 
taken down by boats. The barracks of the ist and 3d ^lassachusetts 
brigades, together with The Temple, were sold by auction, under direc- 
tion of the Quartermaster-General, on the 13th of September following, 
and their debray and walls suffered to decay or became obliterated by 
the year. Looking upon their ancient seats the entire panorama of 
the Revolution passes before the mental vision, and in the flasli of the 
guns that lighted up the world the ancient town is blended as the center 
from which radiates all its scenes. 



On the accompaning official map the location of fhe dwellings of sev- 
■eral of tlie sturdy patriots of New Windsor are given, and from the 
fact that others are omitted it is inferred that those marked were at least 
in part occupied by army officers. Identification, however, cannot now 
'he. made further than that Joel Barlow, "chaplain, poet and politician," 
is said to have had quarters with Deacon Saml. Brewster in tlie house 
marked "Brewster's." Most of the buildings on the map are still stand- 
ing (1892) and in occupation, and on the same old roads with tlie excep- 
tion of the highway on which "Dusenberry's" is marked, which was 
abandoned on the construction of the "Snake Hill turnpike" a short dis- 
tance further east. New roads and drives abound, but substantially the 
revolutionary roads remain. 



84 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER Vni. 



CHURCH HISTORY. 

The religious history of New Windsor has representation in church 
organizations both within and without its borders, viz : The Church of 
England Mission, the Highlands or Bethlehem Church, the Wallkill 
or Goodwill Church, the Neelytown Church, the Associate Presbyter- 
ian Church of Little Britain, the Presbyterian Church at New Windsor, 
Berea Churdh, St. George's Episcopal Church at Newburg^h, St. Dav- 
id's Church in Hamptonburgh, St. Thomas' Episcopal Church in New 
Windsor, the Methodist Episcopal Churches at Vail's Gate and Little 
Britain, and St. Patrick's Church at Newburgh through its recently es- 
tablished mission at New Windsor village. Confining attention to the 
churches within the town, we notice first 

THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSION. 

In response to petitions which have been referred to in another part 
of this work,* the London "Society for the propagation of the Gospel in 
Foreign Parts"** established, in 1730, the New Windsor Mission or 
Parisli, and appointed to its charge the Rev. Richard Charlton,*** wliO' 
entered upon his duties in 1731. The parish then embraced a district 
of some twenty miles on the Hudson and a nearly equal distance west, 
including in New Windsor the families of Alsop, Ellison, Chambers, 
Mulliner and Matthews ; the Coldens of Coldenham ; Phineas Mcintosh, 
of Newburgh ; Henry Wileman of Wilemantown, and other residents. 
Mr. Charlton removed to New York and was succeeded by the Rev. 
W. Kilpatrick,****who continued the work until about 1734, from which 

^See " Name," ohapter I. **Gh'artered by King William, June 16, 1701. 

***H'aw!kins, in (his " Historical Notices of itbe Missions oi the Church of 
England," staites that -tlhe Rev. Mr. Charlton held "the humble but imiportant office 
of catedhist to the negroes, first at New Windsor, and afterwards at New York." 
While no doubt appointed to that office thiere comld have been but few, if any 
negroes an New Windsor at that time. He remained in New Windsor but a short 
time, removing to 'New York in 1732, where he baptised a considerable number of 
the daS'S to w(hom he was appointed. In 1747, he was promoted to the churdh of 
St. Andrew, on Staten Island, where he died in 1777. 

****Tlh'e Society for the Propogation of *he Gospel supplied Mr. Charlton's 
place by removing their missionary. Rev. Mr. KiLpatrick, from Cape Fair, New- 
foundland, to New Windsor, but he, having a large family and being a corpulent 
man, soon got tired of the country as well as they of him." — St. Andrew's Churck 
Records. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 85 



time until 1744-5, when the Rev. Hezekiah Watkins***** was appointed 
the parish was vacant. Mr. Watkins, soon after his appointment, divid- 
ed the parish into three stations, one at New Windsor, one on the Otter- 
kill where he resided, and one on the Wallkill, the New Windsor sta- 
tion was changed to Newburgh, in 1747, where, soon after, the Glebe 
w'hic^h had been set apart for the support of a Lutheran minister, pass- 
ed into its possession, and became known as the Paris'h of Newburgh, and 
in 1770, by letters of incorporation, as St. George's. The station on the 
O'tterkill, in the same year (1770) was given the title of St. David's, 
and the one on the Wallkill that of St. Andrew's. Letters of incorpo- 
poration for the several stations were obtained by the Rev. John Sayre* 
w'ho succeeded Mr. Watkins in i769-'70. Mr. Sayre resigned in 1775, 
and from that time until 1790 none of the churches had a rector. The 
Rev. George H. Spierin**was then engaged and served until 1793, from 
which time until 1806, the rectorship of St. George's and St. David's 
were vacant, althoug^'h for the purpose of bringing legal action for the 
recovery of the Glebe in 1805, the Rev. Cave Jones was appointed agent 
for the St. George's and took up his residence in Newburgh. The Rev. 
Frederick Van Home, who had been in charge of St. Andrew's from 
1793, agreed to serve the three congregations in 1806. He was suc- 
ceeded in 1809, by the Rev. Mr. Mackin, and in 1810 by the Rev. Wm. 

*****Dr. Johnson, of Connecticut, reconrmended iMr. Hezekiah Watkins as a 
proper person -to be sent ihome for Orders. A s^mall subscription was raised for 
him and he went to England, was ordaiined and appointed by the Society as mis- 
sionary with a salary of only £30 (chen about $30) to officiate at three divisions 
of iChe mission — New Windsor, Otterkill and Wallkill. Mr. Watkins was a single 
man of an easy and inofifensive disposition, so that he lived 'happily with his peo- 
ple till the day of his death." — St. Andrciv's Records. 

The Watkins family settled near the Otterkill, and establisihed their family 
burying ground. In this burying ground, now entirely neglected, and from whicli 
it is said many ihead-stones have been removed and converted into d'oor-stones, 
lie the remains of the reverend missionary and also of those of bis mother, Jo- 
anrua, widow of Epbrian Watkins and of several members ctf bis father's family — 
Abel, Joseph, Joseph 2nd, Hezekiah, Josse and Subrint. wife of Samuel. The 
inscription on the head-stones of Rev. Hezekiah is as follows : " Sacred to the 
nieiTDor>' of the Rev- Hezekiajh Watkins, who departed this life on the loth day of 
April, 1765, aged S7-" 

*The Rev. John Sayre removed from the XcAvburgh mission to Fairfield In- Ctn^y^. 
common with the great majority of the clerg}-- of tllie Churoh of England, and 
especially those under appointment and pay of the London Society, he maintained 
allegiance to "his Majesty's person and government," and for so doing was con- 
fined to bis bouse and garden and proclaimed as an enemy to his country, by the 
Revolutionists of Fairfield. A more severe blow than t^his, however, fell upon 
him ait the hands of 'his friends. On the 7th of July, 1779, the notorious Governor 
Trj'on, of New York, with a company of "lox^al Americans,'" landed at Fairfield and 
set ithe tofwn on fire, which, in its progress consumed the mission churoh and also 
Mr- Sayre's house, furniture, food and raiment. He then returned to New York 
or "within the King's lines-" — Hatvkiiis' Mission of the Church of England. 
**History of Newburgh, page 291. 



86 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Powell. The Rev. John Brown succeeded the latter as rector of St. 
George's and New Windsor in 1815, during which year "the Holy Com- 
munion was administered for the first time in the parish of Newburg^ 
since the Revolutionary war, to the small number of three,"** so com- 
pletely shattered had the church become through the participation of 
many of its members in the cause of the King. Througli all its history 
the Ellisons of New Windsor were liberal supporters of tlie Mission^ 
and to the liberality of one of the family, Thomas Ellison, Jr., of New 
York, was very largely due the re-establishment of St.. George's, and the 
organization of the present St. Thomas' of New Windsor. Tlie history 
of St. George's has been fully written as well as that of St. Andrew's. 
St. David's erected and enclosed a church edifice in 1771, but never 
completed it. It is said to have been occupied as a hospital during the- 
encampment of the Army of the Revolution in the vicinity; that it was- 
subsequently occupied for religious worship occasionally but was ulti- 
mately blown over and permitted to decay. The parish organization, 
however, was never entirely broken up, and possession of the site is- 
still retained. 

But St. David's may not be dismissed from the 'historic record at 
this point. The Rev. John Sayre, who succeeded Mr. Watkins, made atii 
efifort soon after his settlement to place the mission stations, which his- 
predecessor had established, on a more substantial basis, and to this end 
secured for them, as already stated, letters of incorporation under the 
titles by which they have since been known. In addition to this he en- 
deavored to secure the erection of a church edifice at New Windsor vil- 
lage and to establish there what he called the "capital" of the parish. 
Col. Thomas Ellison and the New Windsor members readily embraced 
his views, and they were also favorably entertained by the principal, 
parishoners of Newburgh. Indeed, the proposition would in all proba- 
bility, 'have been successfully accomplished had not the Rev. missionary 
gone one step further and added to his proposal that the charter to the- 
Newburgh Glebe should be amended so as to restore the title of the 
"Parish of New Windsor" and secure to the "capital" the income of the 
Glebe. He urged that New Windsor was entitled to this by reason of 
original dedication and from the fact that it had not only "had all the 
burden of the two first missionaries," but that the district was still 
known as the "Parish of New Windsor" by the "Society for the Propa- 
gation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts," to the records of which the 
title should conform. The trustees of the parish of NcAvburgh refused 
to agree to this amendment, saying that they would not have given their 



**Dr. Brown's Historical Sermon. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



87 



assent to the building of the church "near New Windsor" had they had 
"the most distant thought" that it would ""have tended to affix the 
Glebe at Newburgh to a church at New Windsor," and "urged their 
fear of the people of Newburg'h if they should consent to such a step, 
and that it would be unsafe for them to ride the roads for fear of assas- 
sination" should they do so. The matter of changing tiie charter of 
the Glebe was, therefore, dropped, but a subscription for building a 
churdh edifice was raised and from the tenor of its conditions it may be 
inferred that there was no little feeling upon the subject. By these con- 
ditions the amounts subscribed were made payable to the "Rector and 
members of St. David's Church, in the precinct of Cornwall," on the 
condition that the building should be erected "on a spot of ground to be 
agreed upon and procured" on the south side of Chambers' creek, "so 
that the same" should "be out of and independent of the jurisdiction of 
the trustees of the Parish of Newburgh." Whether this building was 
erected or not, or whether it was the building known as St. David'i 
Church, which is said to have been erected in 1771, as above noticed, 
does not appear. From the dates alone and the conditions of the S"b- 
scription it is inferred that the St. David's edifice was erected by this 
subscription. The following were the subscribers : 



L. 

Jrthn Sayre. Jr... 5 

Thomas Ellisom 100 

William Ellison 25 

John Ellison 25 

Samuel W'hi'tm'ore • • 2 
Francis Mandervill • • • i 

John Nicoll i 

John Barton o 

"William Williams ... o 

Gilbert Pett o 

Obadiah Smith ••..•• i 

Jerk. Clark i 

Gilbert Barton o 

Benjamin Case o 

Saml. Arthur i 

Andrew S'herwood . . . -o 

Reuben Clark i 

Patrick McCamriel . . i 

~ David Southerland, Sr. i 

John Celley • • o 

David Mandevill .... o 

David Sutten o 

James Sutten ........ 

Theopliilus Curwin . . i 

Johannah Kleck .... o 

Robert Newsome .... o 

Mank Garr .......... o 

James Clinton i 

- Joseph Wood . o 



s. 


d- 






































10 





2 





16 





16 





10 





10 





2 





8 





10 





8 























4 





8 





8 





8 





10 





4 





10 





4 





10 





10 






L. s. d. 

Vincent Matt'hews . • 5 o 

George Clinton 3 

Leonard Nicoll ••..•• 2 o 

Nathaniel Liscoml . . 10 o o 

John Gollow ........ o 4 o 

Christopher Gollow . . o 4 o 

Isaac Stonehotise .... 2 o o 

Isaac Schultz i o o 

Henry Kilbona • • . . . o 8 o 

William Jackson • • . . i o o 

Jaines Jackson, Jr. . . i o o 

Samuel Logan ...... o 10 o 

Benjamin Homan . . . . o 8 

Silas Wihite 8 o 

David Halliday ..... o 8 o 

Judah Harlow ...... o 16 o 

Sylvanus Dusinbcrry 100 

Samuel Thorn ••...• o 5 o 

John Jolmson i o o 

Saml. Brewster ..■■•^ 3 o o 

Saml. Brewster, Jr. ^ 10 o 

Joseiph Smith o 8 o 

James Peters . 5 o o 

Thomas Jackson .... 8 

Leonard Smith ...... 3 o o 

William Edmonston • i 00 

Stephen Peet ...-.•. i 10 o 

Joseph Drake ....... i o c 



History of The Town of Nev, Windsor. 



The subsequent history of St. David's is comparatively a blank. It is 
possible that it is referred to in the minutes of St. George's under date 
of August 4, 1806, in which it is said that the "Church at Goshen, St. 
Andrews, New Windsor, and Newburgh, had agreed to unite in sup- 
porting a clergyman," but of this there is no certainity. As already stat- 
ed, however, the organization of the parish was maintained and at least 
occasional services held until a comparatively recent period. Its last 
election for Wardens was in 1857, and the persons then elected have 
since exercised authority over the real estate of the parish in the ab- 
sence of successors. 

Running through such records as have been preserved are traces of i: 
church at New Windsor. In the records of St. Andrews it is written 
that the Rev. Hezekiah Watkins officiated "at three divisions of the 
mission, viz: At New Windsor on the Hudson river, at the Otterkill, and 
at the Wallkill ; that during this time no place of worship was erect'^'d 
except at the Wallkill division ; " that after the change in the charter 
of the Glebe in 1750, Mr. Watkins officiated in Newburgh "every tliird 
Sunday in a small churdh on the Glebe built by the Lutherans ; "' tliat 
■'-.he church was before that kept at the town of New WiriGso.-. and his 
moving to Newburgh gave offence to the heads o'f the church at New 
Windsor and caused an unhappy rupture that was detnm^iita^ to ihe 
church thereafter;" that Mr. Sayre "preached alternately at Nev.bnrgh, 
the Otterkill divi:>Ion, and Wallkill division," and "obtained a charter for 
each church, viz: St. George's, St. Andrew's, and St. David's, all dated 
July 30, 1770." The effort of Mr. Sayre to change the charter of the 
Glebe and its result have already been stated, and is in harmony with 
the St. Andrew's record, but further reference to a dhurch at New 
Windsor does not appear until 1806, when it is of record that the 
"Church at Goshen, St. Andrews, New Windsor, and Newburgh had 
agreed to unite in supporting a clergyman," and at a later date it is writ- 
ten that the Rev. Dr. Brown "revived the church at New Windsor" in 
1 81 8. The question involved is perhaps sufficiently explained by the 
language of the references quoted, from which it will be gathered that 
the first mission station was at New Windsor, that it was removed from 
thence to Newburgh; that effort was made to restore it to New Wind- 
sor; that there was at New Windsor some kind of an organization which 
found shelter under the charter of St. David's; that this organization is 
that referred to in 1806, and that the revived church under Dr. Brown 
was the formal organizafion of an informal society which had existed 
from the institution of the "Parish of New Windsor" in 1731. 
From this field of research we turn to the record of 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 89 

st. tiiomas' church. 
the establishment of which was largely due to a bequest made by 
Thomas Ellison, Jr., of New York, by his will in 1793. This bequest 
Avas in the following terms : 

'T give and bequeath unto my brother, William Ellison, and my nep- 
hew, Thomas Ellison, and the survivors of them and the heirs of suoh 
survivors, all the lands I bought of Cornelius Tibout in New W^indsor, 
Ulster Co. in the State of New York, containing in the several lots 
about firty-five acres, in trust for a Glebe for such minister of the Gos- 
pel in communion with the Prostestant Episcopal Church in the State 
of New York as shall hereafter be settled and have the care of souls in 
the said town of New Windsor, and his successor for the time being, for- 
ever. And also I give unto my said brother, William Ellison, and my 
nephew, Thomas Ellison, the sum of six hundred pounds, N. Y. cur- 
rency, in suoh of my bonds as he and my nephew shall choose to be 
kept out at interest, and the annual interest arising therefrom to be 
paid to such minister for the time being toward his support and main- 
tenance, and if there should be no such minister at the time of my death, 
then my will is that the rents and profits of the said lands and the in- 
terest of the said sum of six hundred pounds, shall yearly be put out at 
interest by my said brother, William Ellison, and my nephew Thomas 
Ellison, their heirs and executors (but not to be at his or their risk) 
and shall become principal and be added to the said sum of six hundred 
pounds yearly, until such minister shall be settled and have the care of 
souls in the said town of New Windsor, who shall officiate as a minister 
for one half of his time at least, and then the interest of the whole sum, 
so accumulated shall be yearly paid to such minister and his successors 
for the time being towards his and their support and maintenance. And 
whenever the inhabitants, for the time being of the said town of New 
Windsor, in communion of the Prostestant Episcopal Church, in the 
State of New York, shall become a religious corporation, then the said 
lands and the securities for the said moneys shall be conveyed and de- 
livered to such corporation for the uses and purposes aforesaid." 

Under the encouragement of this bequest. Dr. Brown entered upon 
his parish labors in 181 5, and took up his residence in New Windsor, 
subsequently removing to Newburgh. The New Windsor Church was 
then revived by him, and was formally organized under his charge on 
the eighth of April, 181 8, at which time the name of St. Thomas was 
adopted and the following officers elected, viz : Wardens — Thomas Elli- 
son, Charles Ludlow ; Vestry — David Humphrey, Lewis DuBois, James 
Green, Gilbert Ogden Fowler, Joseph Morrell, Jonathan Bailey, Na- 



90 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



than H. Sayre, Jr., James Scott. Dr. Brown gave one-half of his time- 
to the charge until 1844, when he resigned. A small building was 
fitted up 'by William Ellison in 181 5, and was occupied until its des- 
truction by fire in January, 1844. The erection of the present church 
edifice was commenced in 1847, and completed in 1849. A rectory was 
erected in 1859 and sold in 1864. It has more recently been owned 
and occupied by Mr. Robert H. Boyd. The church edifice is a neat 
Gothic building of stone, and is situated on the table-lands a short dis- 
tance south of the village of New Windsor. The following have been 
the rectors of the parish : 

i8i8-'44 — Rev. John Brown. i85i-'56 — Rev. Reuben Riley (Rev. 
Beverly Robinson Betts, assistant. i857-'62 — Rev. Christopher D. Wyatt 
(who officiated also as rector of St. Jdhn's, Canterbury). i862-'66 — 
Rev. R. H. Cressy. i864-'67 — Rev. Richard Temple (Rev. John Morgan 
officiated). 1872— Rev. Haslett McKim. 

THE WALLKILL OR GOODWILL CHURCH. 

Although taking its name from the district in which it was situated' 
and in which its leading founders resided, the Wallkill or Goodwill Pres- 
byterian Church included in its membership and congregation a consider- 
erable number of families residing in fhe western part of New Windsor 
The precise date of its organization cannot be fixed, the earliest record 
evidence in relation to it being under date of September 20, 1729, at 
which time John McNeal presented an application to the Synod of 
Philadelphia for supplies of preaching.* The traditional evidence is 
that it was originally composed of "about forty families that had emi- 
grated from the different parts of Ireland, but principally from (.he 
county of Londonderry," and who, in their new home, were called "the- 
people of Wallkill." At that time it was emphatically a neighborhood 
church, and embraced the scattered settlers of the southeast portion of 



*In *he mimiites of the Synod of PiliiladeLpihia, unider date of Sept. 20, 1729, is 
the following entry: "Application from the people of Wallkill being presenred 
to the Synod by their commissioner, Jahn McNeal, representing their request of 
supplies of preacliing among them, tbey are recoimm ended to the care of the Pres- 
bytery of Philiadelphia." This entry is not conclusive that the society was organ- 
ized at thiat time ; on lilie oomtrary, it conveys the impression that the " people of 
Wallakill " requested " supplies o'f preaching among them " with a view to es- 
*ab!ish a society. From the records O'f the commissioners o'f highways of Shawan- 
gunk, Sept. ist, 1735, it appears that a society ihad been formed prior to that 
date, and was then engaged in erecting a "mieeting ihouse near die settkiment of 
Adaim Graiham." The building gave place to a new one in 1765- — R^v. Jas- M. 
Dickson's Hist. Dis- "Goodwill" was the first or corpora r.^ name of the society. 
— " Wallkill " Slaving been a local designaJtion distinguishing it from the " Bethle- 
hem " society, w*hich was also known by the name of " Highlands " from the pre- 
cinct in w'hich it was located. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



9« 



the old precinct of Shawangimk and of the northwestern part of the 
precinct of the Highlands. In the changing lives of civil organizations 
it was in the precints of Shawangunk, Wallkill and Hanover, and ulti- 
mately in the town of jMontgomery. No less than five churches have 
sprung from its loins — the Xeelytown (now Hamptonburgh) Church, 
Hopewell Church, Graham's Church, Berea Churc'h, and Montgomery 
Village Church, and several other societies have been recruited from its 
rank. It was served by occasional supplies until 1740, when it received 
its first settled pastor. Rev. Joseph Houston, who died a few months 
after entering upon his duties. His successor was the Rev. John Mof- 
fat, who was dismissed from the charge about 1765. Rev. John Blair 
succeeded Mr. Moffat and served from 1768 to 1771. His successor 
was the Rev. Andrew King, in 1776, who served until 181 5. The first 
edifice occupied by the church was erected sometime prior to 1735. A 
very complete history of the church by the present pastor. Rev. J. M. 
Dickson, recently published, renders further notice unnecessary. 

BETHLEHEM OR HIGHLAXDS CHURCH. 

Although now situated in the northwest part of the town of Cornwall, 
the Bethlehem Church was, like Goodwill, the center of a district, and 
originally, as it still is very largely, more strictly a New Windsor than 
a Cornwall Church. The date of its organization is uncertain, tradition 
affirming that it was as early as 1726, and that its first house of worship 
was erected in 1731. The following entry appears in its records of 1827: 

"In the year 1739, the church lot of two acres of land was conveyed by John 
Nicoll, physician, in the city of New York, to James Stringham, Thomas Smith, 
Jr., Nathaniel DuBois, Joseph Sutherland and Samuel Luckie, in trust, and in the 
same year, by the aforesaid trustees, to Thomas Smith, Sr-, Charles Clinton, and 
John Given, then Elders of the Presbyterian Church, of Bethlehem, and their suc- 
cessors. From the description in the deed, it appears that the church had been 
built previous to the date of the conveyance. According to the best information it 
must have been erected about the year 1731. 

"The parsonage lot, containing one hundred and five acres — the two acre lot 
excepted — was conveyed in 1751, by the Rev. Alex Cumming, of the city of New 
York, and Margaret Nicoll his wife, who was the daughter and on€ of the heirs 
of the before mentioned John Nicoll, to Hezekiah Howell, Thomas Smith. Henry 
Case, John Crawford, and James Humphrey for the sum of fifty-one pounds, ten 
shillings, current money of the province of New York.'' 

The date of organization depends some\\-'hat perhaps upon the date of 
settlement of some of the parties named in the deed of 1739. Joseph 
Sutherland was probably one of the descendants of William Sutherland 
who came into the district as early as 1709, and whose son, David, was 
the owner of a portion of the patent, on which the church stands, prior to 
1734- John Nicoll purchased the remainder of the patent in 1734. Thos. 



Q2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Smith, St., petitioned for lands Sept. 3, 173 1, and obtained patent in 1732. 
Charles Clinton settled in 1730. While these dates indicate that the so- 
ciety was formally organized not long anterior to the deed from Nicoll. 
(1739), the fact must be borne in mind that there were Presbyterians in 
the vicinity of the immigration under MacGregorie as early as 1685, who 
may have had at least an informal society as early as 1726. The society 
was certainly in existence m 1735, for during that year an arrangement 
was made for the settlement of t'he Rev. Mr. Chalker, whose successor 
was the Rev. Samuel S. Sackett (as supply) in 1742-43, at which time 
the society was known by the title of Hig'hlands. 

The parsonage lot, deeded in 175 1, was in reality a Glebe for the sup- 
port of the minister. The original parsonage house did not stand upon 
it, but on the land included in the deed of 1739. A new parsonage was 
erected in 1836, tlie old one being reported at that time as not worth 
repair — "the roof was leaky, the siding defective, plastering loose, sills of 
the lintels rotten, and the chimney a mass of stone saturated with mois- 
ture, vermin and corruption." It was probably not less than one hundred 
years old at that time. In reference to the original church edifice, very 
little can now be learned beyond the fact that it contained thirty-one pews 
on the main floor and that it had a seated gallery. This at least was its 
condition in 1785, on the 7th of February of which year the society elect- 
ed the following persons as trustees under the general law incorporating 
religious societies, viz : William Denniston, James Clinton, Samuel Kek- 
ham, George Denniston, Jas. Kernag*han, William Mofifat, Samuel Mof- 
fat, Jr., WilMam Edmonston and Joseph Chandler. In a list of "original 
owners" of pews at that time the following names appear : 

No. I. Parsonage Pew. No. 17. Sylvester White. 

" 2. Leonard Nicoll. " 18. James Ivernaghan. 

" 3. Isaac Van Duzer. " ig. John Denniston. 

" 4. Alexander Denniston. " 20. Robert R. Burnet and 

" 5. James Denniston. Wm. Denniston. 

" 6. James Clinton. " 21. Samuel Moffat. 

" 7. Chris, and Henry Van Du- " 22. Nathaniel Burchard. 

zer. " 23. "William Moffat. 

" 8. Wm. and Samuel Moffat. " 24. Elijah Carpenter. 

" 9. John Nicholson and Gilbert " 25. Robert Grigg. 

Roberts. " 26. William Edmonston. 

" 10. WiHiani Edmonston. " 27. Samuel Ketcham. 

" ir. William Grigg. " 28. Daniel Harrison. 

" 12. Zcbulon Birdsall. " 29. Shadrack Van Duzer. 

" 13. Nathaniel DuBois. " 30. John Ellison. 

" 14. Zachariah DuIBois. " 31. Joseph Chandler. 

" 15. Strong and Matthews. 

" 16. Daniel Clemence. 

Enos Chandler, Richard Goldsmith, John Denniston, Daniel Harrison, Sam- 
uel Moffat and Daniel Clemence owned seats in the gallery. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 05 



In the beginning, the pulpit was suppHed quite irregularly by such 
clergymen as could be procured from time to time. The first settled min- 
ister was the Rev. Mr. Chalker, in 1735. He was succeeded by Rev. 
Saml. S. Sackett (supply 1742-3). Rev. Enos Ayres came as a supply 
about 1750, and was subsequently settled there until 1762.* Rev. Francis 
Peppard was his successor in 1767 and served until 1771, when the Rev. 
John Qose, 1773 to 1785 was installed. The Rev. Isaac Lewis served 
from 1796 to 1800. Rev. Jonathan Freeman followed from 1800 to 1804, 
when he was succeeded by Rev. Joel T. Benedict. The Rev. Henry 
Ford, the next pastor, was followed by Rev. Artemas Dean, who served 
from December, 181 3 to April, 1842. Rev. J. B. Hubbard next occupied 
the pulpit until 1846, when he was succeeded by Rev. John N. Lewis, 
who remained until July, 1853. He was followed by Rev. Robert H, 
Beattie from September, 1854, to J\Iay, 1866. The Rev. Wm. Holladay 
came next and remained until 1872. Rev. David J. Atwater, the present 
pastor, was installed on the first of May, 1873. 

During the early years of its existence the First Presbyterian Church 
of Newburgh and the Presbyterian Church at New Windsor were more 
or less associated with Bethlehem, if they were not outgrowths from it. 
The following is of record : 

"At a meeting of Elders and several members of the congregation of New 
Windsor, the 22d of August, 1773, for setting on foot a subscription for raising a 
salary for the Rev. John Qose, in order to the calling him as the stated teacher 
and pastor of the united congregation of Bethlehem and New Windsor. 

"It is lagreed, that the congregation stand divided into four districts, as in Mr- 
Peppard's time (i. e. 1767). That Trustees be appointed in each district in whose 
names the subscriptions shall be taken for the use of the said Mr. Close ; and the 
folowing persons were named as Trustees, viz: 

Nezu Cormvall District — Joseph Wood, Reuben Clark, Joseph Sniitli. Daniel 
Wood, Jeremiah Clark. 

Murdcro-'s Creek District— Franch Mandevill. Samuel Biewstcr, William Roe, 
Benjamin Case, William Williams. 

Nezi' Windsor District— John Nicoll. James Clinton. David Halladav. Samuel 
Brewster, Leonard Nicoll, George Clinton, Judah Harlow, Samuel Logan Charles 
Booth. 

Neivburgh I);".ffnVf— Jonathan Hasbrouck, Abel Belknap, Moses Higbv, El- 
nathan Foster, Isaac Belknap."** 



*Mr. Clialker was called by the congregation of AVallkill and Bechlchem. The 
former society, however, appears to have withdrawn its assent after Mr. Chalker 
had preached to 'them as a supply. The Synod minutes say (under date of Sept. 
23- 1735) : "iMr. Chalker did transport his family from Long Island to the High- 
lands, being ^encouraged thereto by the people of Wallkill as well as Bethldiem." 
Mr. Chalker's stay at Bethlehem was limited, as appears from the minutes of 
Presb>"ter>- of New Brunswick, " Philadelphia, (May 29, 1742 — Mr. Sackett to sup- 
ply the Highlands the one half of his time, and Crompond and White Plains the 
other half." Oct.. 12. 1743— Application being made to the Presbytery in 1>chalf 
of the Higlhlands for supply, Mr. Sackett is appointed to supply them as often as 
he can." 

**History of Newburgh. - 



94 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



The association for the support of a pastor, which apparently origi- 
nated in 1767, was continued until the close of Mr. Freeman's adminis- 
tration, during which time the societies at Newburgh and New Windsor 
Village had attained sufficient strength to maintain a minister — Rev. 
Eleazer Burnet and the Rev. Jdhn Johnson serving them until 1810. 

The church edifice was rebuilt in 1828, and has recently been re-seated 
and considerably improved. The original burying ground was enlarged 
in 1868, and the additional ground divided into lots, several of which 
exhibit modern arrangement and monuments. 

NEW WINDSOR PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 

The New Windsor Presbyterian Church dates its organization from 
September 14, 1764, at which time Joseph Wood, William Lawrence, 
Samuel Brewster, and Henry Smith were chosen elders. It was formally 
constituted May 5, 1766, by the Rev. Timothy Johnes, a committee of the 
Presbytery of New York. From the date of its constitution until 1805, 
it was associated with the Newburgh and Bethlehem societies in the sup- 
port of a pastor, and from 1805 to 1810, with the latter. From 1810 to 

1827, it enjoyed only occasional ministerial labors. On May i, 1827, 
the Rev. James H. Thomas was employed in connection with the church 
at Canterbury, and was installed pastor of both churches February 12, 

1828. The connection with the Canterbury churc^h was dissolved in 1834, 
Mr. Thomas serving the New Windsor church exclusively until June, 
1835. Rev. James Sherwood was installed pastor August 5th, 1835, and 
continued in that relation until April, 1840. The pulpit was subsequently 
occupied by supplies — Rev. N. S. Prince, Rev. Henry Belden, Rev. Isaac 
C. Beach, and Rev. James Bruyn. For several years past there has been 
no service held, although we believe a church organization is maintained. 
For its connection with the Bethlehem church, and also with the Pres- 
byterian Church of Newburgh, the reader is referred to the history of 
the latter church in the history of Newburgh. 

The first building erected by the society was a small structure in the 
village of New Windsor. It is said that it was occupied as a hospital 
during the encampment, and was subsequently destroyed by fire. The 
present edifice was erected in 1807. It is a small wooden structure with 
spire, and adjoins the present village on the west. In the ancient burial 

■ground Avhich forms a part of its real estate, the oldest monument is that 
which records the resting place of John Yelverton, one of the founders 

^of the village, who died June 12, 1767, aged (74) years. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 95 



LITTLE BRITAIN CHURCH. 

The Associate Reformed Church of Little Britain, familiarly known 
.as the "Little Britain Church," was one of the organized results of the 
missionary labors of Rev. Robert Annan, who came over from Scotland 
in 1761, and who, before the expiration of ten years, established preach- 
ing stations throughout the district from Little Britain to Blooming- 
burgh. In 1765, societies of sufficient strength had been formed at Little 
Britain and in Wallkill to erect houses of worship, and to war- 
rant the calling, in 1767, of j\Ir. Annan to become their settled 
pastor, in which relation he was installed October 2, 1772, the societies 
being then and for many years subsequently the "Associate Reformed 
Church of Little Britain" and the "Associate Reformed Church of Neely- 
town."* Whatever may have been the status of the former from the ad- 
vent of Air. Annan in 1761 to the year 1765, its records date from Sep- 
tember nth of the latter year, when Patrick McClaughry sold to James 
Jackson, Matthew McDool (AIcDowell) and Andrew Crawford, a tract 
or parcel of land containing one acre, one road, and thenty-three perches, 
being part of the patent to Andrew Johnston, the intention of the pur- 
chasers, as expressed in the deed, being "to erect a meeting house there- 
upon to be appropriated to Divine service in the public worship of God, 
for the use of a Presbyterian minister and congregation in connection 
with the Associate Presbytery in Pennsylvania." On the site thus pur- 
chased a church edifice was erected, and was occupied by the congrega- 
tion until 1826. It was a square building with a barrack roof The en- 
trance was by two doors on the east, on each side of which were stairs 
leading to galleries en the north and south sides. The pulpit was on 
the west and was of the old-fashioned high structures with a sounding 
board. On each side of the pulpit were square pews with seats on all 
sides so that part of the occupants had to sit with their backs to the 
minister. In front of the pulpit and between that and the door were 
long seats or slips, on each side of which were continued the box pews. 
On the south side of the pulpit the first pew was owned by the Mc- 
Dowells ; the second by Robert Burnet; the next and corner pew by the 
Shaws and Kernochans. As it was not fully completed inside for sev- 
eral years after it was enclosed, descriptive recollections vary somewhat. 
Outside, the south and west sides were shingled ; the west and north clap- 

*Th.e Associate Presbytery r-epresented what was known as the Seceders. The 
Reformed Presbyterian, another independent body united w'th the former in 1792, 
under fhe title of the Associate Reformed Ohurch; hence the name sustained by 
ihe Little Britain Ohuroh. 



96 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



boarded. One peculiarity it maintained among the early settlers— it 
was universally called "The Meeting House." In 1826, it gave place to 
the building which is now occupied. 

The first elders of the dhurch were Matthew McDool (McDoweh), 
Patrick McClaughry, and John Waugh. The first pastor was the Rev. 
Robert Annan, who was in charge in 1768. The records of the Associate 
Presbytery of Pennsylvania state: 

"August 31 1762, Mr. Robert Annan was called to the exercise of 
the pastoral office in the congregations of Makle Creek and Cunawago in 
Pennsylvania, and on the 8th of June, 1763, he was ordained and install- 
ed. April 15th, 1767, he was called to "the congregations of Little 
Britain and Wallkill." April 21, 1768, the pastoral relation between 
him and the congregations of March Creek and Cunawago was dissolved 
and on October 2, 1772 he was installed pastor 'of the United Associate 
congregations of Little Britain and Wallkill.' " 

Mr. Annan served the Little Britain and Nedytown (Wallkill) con- 
gregations until about 1783, when he removed to Boston. His successor 
was Rev. Thomas J. Smith, who was installed May i, 1791. On his re- 
tirement the pastorate was vacant until 181 2, when the Rev. James 
Scrimegeour, who had served as pastor of the Associate Reformed 
Church of Newburgh from 1803, was installed. He remained in the 
charge until his death, Feb. 4, 1825. Rev. Robert H. Wallace was his 
successor, Oct. 6, 1825, and served until his death, when he was suc- 
ceeded by his son, Rev. R. Howard Wallace, who is now pastor. 

The original Presbyterial connection of the church was maintained 
until a recent date when it united with the "Old School" branch of Pres- 
byterians. 

UNION M. E. CHURCH, VAIL's GATE. 

The M. E. Church at Vail's Gate is called in old records the "Union 
Church of New Windsor," a name which was probably intended to imply 
that it was a neighborhood church in which professors of every creed 
had a common interest. It was the outgrowth of what was known in 
1789 as the John Ellison class. Ellison had formerly belonged to the 
Church of England, which at that time had no organization in the vicin- 
ity, and hence he was readily led to give encouragement to the substi- 
tute which the Methodist Episcopal Church offered, embracing, as the 
creed of the latter did substantially, the creed of the Church of England 
of w'hich it was originally a branch. In 1791, Mr. Ellison erected a 
building near his residence at Monticello, the first story of which he oc- 
cupied as a store and the second he fitted up as a hall for religious ser- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



97 



vices. While itinerant preachers of all denominations were permitted 
to occupy the hall, it was especially reserved for those of the Methodist 
Church from which it became known as the Methodist Church. It was 
occupied by the Union Church until 1807, when the present building, 
which had been somewhat modernized since its erection, was constructed, 
and now forms the oldest church edifice of the denomination on the west 
bank of the Hudson River. In 1809, it was made the head of the New 
Windsor circuit, with Rev. Thomas Woolsey and James Coleman, 
preachers. At the quarterly conference of that year, held in the new 
Union Church, then the only one in the circuit, Andrew Cunning^ham and 
Benjamin Westlake appeared as local preachers, and Henry Still, James 
Benjamin, Thomas Collard and Jonathan Stephens as exhorters. The 
circuit embraced New Windsor, Sugar Loaf, Smith's Clove, Lower 
Clove, Oxford, Warwick, Amity, Bullet Hill, Ketchamtown, Pochuck, 
Newfoundland, Deepark, New Shawangimk (Bethel), Hamburgh, Bell- 
vale, Vernon and Cornwall. This circuit, which will be recognized as 
covering a wide district of country, was subsequently divided and sub- 
divided until it has finally substantially disappeared, only the society at 
Mountainville now being included with it. The first trustees of the 
chuich were elected April 6, i(So4, and were Daniel Holmes and Samuel 
Fowler of Newburgh, and Jabish Atwater (Atwood?), Samuel Dusin- 
berry and Henry Still of Xew Windsor. The following list of circuit 
preachers from 1790* to 1880 was prepared by Rev. N. S. Tuthill : 

1790 — Benjamin Abbott, 1801 — Samuel Fowler, 

Joseph Lx)well. Mathias Swain, 

i/Qi^Jetter Johnson, David Best. 

Joshua Taylor. 1802 — James Herron, 

1792 — Samuel Fowler, 1803 — Thomas St ration, 

Lawrence McCombs. Mitchell E. Bull. 

1793 — ^Lawrence McCombs, 1804 — Robert Dillon, 

Smith Weeks. Isaac Candee. 

1794 — Samuel Fowler, 1805 — Zenas Coxcl. 

Moses Crane , Isaac Candee. 

Wm. Storms. 1806 — Asa Cummins, 
1795 — Matthias Swain, Wm. Keith. 

Daniel Buck. 1807 — John Crawford, 
1796— Jacob Egbert, Wm. Keith. 

John Finnegan. 1808— John Robertson, 
1797 — Samuel Fowler, J. Coleman, 

Thomas Woolsey. Wm. Jewett. 

1798-9 — Robert Green, 1809 — Thomas Woolsey, 

Wm. Storms. James Coleman. 

1800 — Samuel Fowler, 1810— Samuel Fowler, 

Elijah Woolsey. Samuel Bushnell. 



*From 1790 to 1809 the church was in the Newburgh Circuit. Tlic New Wind- 
sor Circuit was established in the latter year. 



98 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



1811 — John Keline, 

Hawley Sanford. 
1812 — John Keline, 

James Edwards, 

Stephen Jacob. 
1813 — Nathan Emory 

Ezekiel Cantield. 
1814 — Luman Andrews, 

Bela Smith. 
181 5 — Zalman Lyon, 

Bela Smith. 
1816 — Zalman Lyon, 

James Kline 
1817-18— J. Hunt, 
J. Brown. 

Thomas Stratton. 
1819 — Almond Comber, 

Herman Bangs. 
1820 — Phineas Rice, 

Herman Bangs. 
1821 — Nicholas White, 

George Coles. 
1822 — Nicholas White, 

Gilbert Lyon. 
1823 — Gilbert Lyon, 

Friend W. Smith. 
T824 — William Jewett, 

Friend W. Smith. 
1825 — Noah Biglow, 

Henry DeWolf. 
1826— Jacob Hall, 

Luarter Stewart. 
1827— Jacob Wall, 

Raphael Gilbert. 
1828— Jarvis Z. NichoJs. 

Raphael Gilbert- 
1829-30 — Benjamin Griffin, 

Humphrey Humphries. 
1831 — Phineas Rice , 

Hiram Wing. 
1832-33 — Cyrus Silliman, 

Noble W. Thomas. 



1834 — James Coveli, 

Nathan Rice. 
1835 — James Coveli, 

John R. Rice, 

Thomas Edwards. 
1836-37 — Thomas Newman, 
Wm. Miller. 
Sylvester Strong. 
1838— J. Z. Nichols, 
1839-40 — Wm. W. Ferguson. 
1841 — John G. Smith. 
1842-43 — Ira Ferris. 
1844-45 — John Reynolds. 
1846— Samuel W. King. 
1847-48 — James H. Romer. 
1850 — David Holmes. 
1851-52 — Wm. Bloomer. 
1853-54— A. C. Fields. 
1855 — J. C Washburn. 
1856— J. C. Washburn 

D. C. Hull. 
1857— John A. Selleck. 
1858— John A. Sel'leck, 

Wm. E. Kekham. 
1859 — David B. Turner, 

N. Brusie. 
i860 — David B. Turnc-, 

D. D. Gillespie. 
1861— A. C. Fields, 

D. D. Gillespie. 
1862— A. C. Fields, 

George C. Esray. 
1863-64— Wm. Blake, 
1865 — David Gibson. 
1866-67 — David B. Turner. 
1868-69 — David McCartney. 
1870-71 — George Daniels. 
1872-74 — Charles Goise. 
1875— O. P. Matthews. 
1876-78 — Job H. Champion. 
1879-81- N. S. Tuthiill. 



LITTLE BRITAIN M. E. CHURCH. 



Information solicited in regard to the history of this church has not 
been furnished. The records of the trustees ( vv^hich we have been per- 
mitted to examine through the kindness of Wm. R. Weed, Esq.) begin 
July 26, 1853, at which time the erection of a churdh edifice, thirty-four 
feet front by forty-four feet deep, was under contract with Harvey 
Alexander. The building appears to have been completed and occu- 
pied in the fall of 1854. It is near Jackson Avenue and has a burial 
ground attached. The society isi now in a circuit with Gardnertown. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 99 



BURIAL grounds. 

In addition to the Xew W'iucUor rresbylerian Church burial ground, 
■noticed in connection with that church, there is one attached to the 
Vail's Gate M. E. Church, one attached to the Little F>ritain Churcii. 
•one attached to the Little Britain M. E. Church and one known as the 
""Mullinder Graveyard," west of Little Britain Church. There are 
<juite a number of family burial plots, including those known as the 
Clinton, the McClaughry and the Belknaj). and nearly all of them are in 
a wretched condition. 

Woodlawn Cemetery, in charge of an association organized under the 
State law, is being rapidly improved. It is located in the northeast 
part of the town, nearly adjoining the City of XcAvburgh. The re- 
mains of many persons have been removed to it from other grounds, 
both in Newburgh and New Windsor, and many respectable monuments 
have been erected. 

The burial grounds attached to the Goodwill Church and to the 
Neelytown Church contain the remains of many New Windsor fam- 
ilies. 

On the farm of Adam G. Buchanan, in Little l^ritain. stands a sohtary 
monimient, although other graves are marked by its side, on which the 
inscription reads: 

" In meiTiiory of Maitthew McDowel, deceased, wlw departed this life on th« 
23d day of July, A- D. 1787, aged 72 years." 

McDowell, then a boy was one of the Clinton immigrants of 1730^ 
and one of the founders of the Little Britain Church. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER IX. 



JOHN HUMPHREY. 

Very little information can now be obtained in reference to the family 
history of John Humphrey. It is believed that he was a native of Eng- 
land, and that he was the first settler in Little Britain, his name appear- 
ing on the taxroll of 1724,* and on the military roll of 1738. James 
Humphrey, who seems to have been his son, gave testimony in 1785 that 
he was then 71 years of age and had lived in Little Britain 65 years, 
which would carry date of settlement back to 1720. Hugh Humphrey, 
had lived in Little Britain since his birth in 1724. He had several 
children, among whom were John, James, David, Robert, Hugh and 
Agnes. The latter married Col. James McClaughrey in 1763 and died 
without issue in 1808, in her 65th year. It was at the house of John 
Humphrey, Jr., that the precinct of New Windsor was organized in 
1763. James (known as Capt. James) hved on his father's place, 
where he died in 1793, in his 79th year. His wife, Jane, died hi 1789; 
aged 71 years. Robert died in New Windsor, Nov. 30, 1840, aged up- 
wards of 90 years. The town has never been without resident de- 
scendants of the first settler, and although without distinction in the pro- 
fessions or in political life, they have not been without honor as citizens. 

PETER MULLINDER. 

The Mullinder or Mulliner family has been continued in Little Brit- 
ain since the settlement of Peter Mulliner in 1724-5. He was an immi- 
grant of an earlier date, however, his wife Anne, having received a 
patent for 1,000 acres of land in Plattekill, Ulster County, in 1718. One 
tradition is that he was of Norman-English extraction and connected 
with the nobility of England, and that, rather than submit to the will of 
his father and learn a trade, he ran away and came to America; that 
Governor Burnet employed him to superintend some of his landed inter- 
ests in the Highlands, and that, while so employed, he married a daugh- 



*There is little room for doubt. The land conveyed to him by Patrick Hume, 
was surveyed by Caldwallader Colden in 1724. His associate purchaser was James 
Gemball. The latter, however, was not added to the tax roll until 1726. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. iqi 



ter of one of the Palatine settlers of Newburg-h. Burnet was governor 
in 1720, and the Palatines came to Newburgh in 1709. The dates 
would afford opportunity for the accomplislmient of the tradition, and 
his name is in itself evidence of his Norman blood. His farm at Little 
Britain adjoined that of John Humphrey on the south. He built his 
first log cabin on the north side of his lot near a spring; the remains 
of the cellar can be seen at the present time (1886). He afterwards 
built on the south side of the main road that runs through the farm, 
opposite the late residence of his grandson, William MuUiner. He 
was a member of the Church of England. His neighbors, the Burnets, 
Falls, Qintons, etc., were Dissenters. Their intercourse with him dur- 
ing the week, when they met on business or otherwise, was always cord- 
ial; but on Sundays they would not speak. His old farm, on the death 
■of his grandson, William, in 1840, was sold and went out of the name. 
He had six children. His eldest son, Peter, never married ; Elizabeth 
married an Oliver ; Sarah married Isaac Bull, son of William Bull of 
Hamptonburgh ; Mary married John Welling, and Rachel married Geo. 
Falls, (1760); William married Mary Dennis>ton, daughter of Alexan- 
4er Denniston,(i) sister of James(i) and of Colonel George Denniston, 
and lived and died on his father's place. He died young and after 
his death, his widow married Matthew DuBois. He left two children, 
a son, William, and a daughter, Elizabeth. The latter married Charles 
Clinton, son of Genl. James Clinton, and died in New York Aug. 15, 
1865, in her 96th year. She had three children : Maria DeWitt, Alex- 
ander, (Dr.), and Ann Eliza; William married first, Elizabeth Dill, sec- 
ond, Lydia Stewart. He had nine children by his first wife and four 
■by his second: 1, Caleb; 2, William; 3, Franklin;* 4, Alexander C. ;** 
5. Marcus; 6, James D. ; 7, Peter; 8, Mary, (married Geo. Denniston, 
Oct. 29, 1825, died 1830) ; 9, Euclid; 10, Antoinette; 11. Jane; 12. 

; 13, .He died in 1831, in his 58th year. His 

first wife, Elizabeth Dill.*** died Feb. 22, 1817, in her 39th year; his sec- 
ond wife, Lydia, in 1847. in her 59th year. 

JOHN REID. 

John Reid came from County Derry, Ireland, and settled on the An- 

*Franklin Mulliner died May 5. 1870, aged 67 years. He married first, Jane 
Morrison, daughter of William Morrison, second. Caroline Palmer, and third, 
Susan Sly. He had three children by his first wife Robert, William, and Frank- 
Jin; and one by his second wife, Charles. 

♦♦Postmaster at Newburgh, 1833. 

***"One of the most amiable and respectable matrons of the county." — Index. 



I02 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



drew Johnston patent in 1729. His farm was north of that subsequently 
owned by Alexander Denniston. 

He had three daughters : Ann, who married Robert Burnet ; Mary 
who married Patrick McClaughrey, and Jean, who married James 
Burns, a blacksmith. His will bears date April 2. 1768. He 
gave his landed estate to his daughters — one hundred acres to Mrs. 
Burnet; seventy acres to Mrs. McClaughrey, with his home, barn and 
orchard, and seventy acres to William, Mary, Catharine and Jean 
Burns, children of his youngest daughter. His will reads : "But in 
case any of said four children shall at any time marry or cohabit with, 
any papist, or notorious drunkard, or profane swearer, then said child 
or children shall forfeit all right and title to said land, and the said 
child or children's part so forfeited shall be given by my executors unto 
such child or children as shall behave regularly and free of said scandals. 
He died in the spring of 1771. The land willed to the children of Jean 
is now owned by Mr. Graham, formerly by Hamilton Denniston. 
Through his daughter, Mrs. Burnet and Mrs. McClaughry. Mr. Reid 
has descendants in numbers beyond enumeration. 

THE BURNET FAMILY. 

Robert Burnet, the progenitor of the Burnet family of Little Britain^ 
came from Scotland near Edinburgh, about the year 1725. He first settled 
at Raritan, County of Somerset, N. J., where he followed his trade as v. 
tailor. In the year 1729, he purchased of John Parker and Andrew- 
Johnston, merchants of Perth Amboy, 200 acres of the Andrew John- 
ston patent, lying south of the main road and adjoining the farm prev- 
iously purchased by Peter Mullinder, "for sixty pounds current money 
of the said province of New Jersey at eight shillings per i." Accom- 
panied by his brother, who subsequently returned to New Jersey, he 
erected a log cabin* and made preparations for clearing and cultivation. 
He was also accompanied by John Reid, who purchased an ad joinings 
farm lot and whose daughter, Ann, soon after became his wife. He 
was a Scot of pure type, six feet, two inches in height; a firm Presby- 
terian, and a rigid disciplinarian. He left by will the farm, on which he 
lived, to his two oldest sons, James and John, to be equally divided be- 
tween them; to his other children he gave land which he owned in 
other places. He died in the year 1774, in the 73d year of his age. 

*Tihis log cabin was on the souidiwest part of ihis ifarm, near a spring oh the 
farm now of Joseph B.' Burnet- He afterwards built a more commodious house 
on the other side of his land, now the farm of J. €. Terwilliger, where he resided 
until his death. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



103 



Seven children were the issue of his marriage, viz: i, James; 2, John; 
3, Robert; 4, Thomas; 5, Patrick; 6, Sarah; 7, Mary. 

James (i), the oldest son, was bom Jan. 25th, 1732. He married Mary, 
daughter of John Nicholson, about the year 1760. He was a man of 
good reputation. During the Revolution he served as an ensign in 
Capt. McClaughrey's company of militia and was on his way to Fort 
Montgomery with reinforcements when the fort was taken by the Brit- 
ish. He remained some days in the mountains near the fort collecting 
the men who escaped from the enemy, and then joined Genl. James 
Clinton at the Square and marched to the defence of Kingston. He 
lived on the farm left him by his father until 1801, when he sold it to 
his son Robert, and with his wife removed to the residence of his grandr 
son George, near Little Britain Church, where he died I>ec. 23d, 1807, 
at the age of 75 years. His wife died July 28th, 1808. aged 69 years. 
His children were: i, Robert; 2, Ann; 3, Elizabeth; 4, Sarah; 5, Chas. ; 
6, James; 7, Thomas; 8, Mary; 9, Margaret; 10, George. 

John (2), married Gertrude - He was an officer 

in the War of the Revolution, and actively engaged on the frontiers of 
Orange and Ulster Counties, and under Genl. Clinton in Sullivan's cam- 
paign against the Six Nations.* He resided on the farm left him by his 
father (now occupied by Joseph B. Burnet). In 1785 he sold twenty- 
five acres to his nephew, Robert Burnet, and in 1791, the remainder to 
the same party, and with his family removed to the western part of New 
York. He had four children : William and Frederick, and two daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth, one of his daughters married Charles Humphrey. 

Robert (3), married Nancy, daughter of Patrick McClaughry. He 
had five children: i. Henry; 2. William; 3. Abner ; 4. Samuel; 5. Jane — 
the latter married James Davis. He first settled on a farm south of 
Little Britain Church (now owned by R. Wallace Genung), but subse- 
quently exchanged it for a farm in Hamptonburgh, on which he died. 

Thomas (4), known as "Uncle Blind Tommy," married a Johnston. 
He resided on a farm which his grandfather, John Reid. willed to his 
mother, Ann (Reid) Burnet. About 1794 he sold the place to John Mc- 
Lean and removed with his family to Western New York, in the vicini- 

*Lossing, in his "Field Book of the Revolution," (vol 2, p. 117) refers tx) a 
letter written by Wasihington to Genl. Greene, darted '" Newburgh, 6th July, 1782," 
in which he sipeaks o'f Major Burnet. The persorf referred bo was Major John 
Burnet here mentioned, and not Robert Burnet to whom Mr. Lx>ssing applies the 
reference. The latter was second lieutenant in Col. Lamb's Aftillery at that time. 
JcAm was a m'ajor in the Militia, and a second lieutenant in Continental .Army and 
as such filed his claim for bounty lands. 



I04 History of The Town of New Windsor, 

ty of his brother John.* He had seven children: i, John; 2, Benjamin; 
3. Robert; 4, James; 5, Isaac; 6, Elizabeth; 7, Margaret. 

Patrick (5) married Keziah Cook. He had two children: i, George, 
died 1797, aged 2-^ years; 2, Robert, died 1803, in his 27th year, leaving 
a son Hiram. He died on his farm north of Little Britain Square, March 
27, 1825, in his 75th year, and his wife, Keziah, died May 12, 1822, in 
her 74th year. His grandson, Hiram, sold the homestead in 1S50, and 
removed to Wisconsin. 

Sarah (6) married Henry ManNeely (his second wife). She had 
two sons, David and Robert, and one daughter, Ruth, who married Wil- 
liam McDabiel. 

Mary (7) married Neil McCarty. They lived in Little Britain where 
Mrs. McCarty died in 1831, at the age of over 90 years. Sihe had six 
children: i, John; 2, Alexander; 3, Neil; 4, Henry; 5, Nancy; 6, Majry. 
Alexander and- Henry were printers. Alexander was in the employ of 
Solomon Southwick at Albany on the "Plough Boy," and Henry work- 
ed on "The Index," in Newburgh. Nancy married a Gray, and Mary 
married Samuel Finley, son of John Finley, an early settler on Hume's 
Patent. 

The number of the children of Robert and Ann (Reid) Burnet was 
seven, and of their grandchildren, thirty-four. Dispersed as the latter 
became, a record of their descendants would be obtained with no little 
difificulty. Attention is therefore confined to a single branch, that of Rob- 
ert, the oldest son of James, a branch which has retained the ancient 
homestead and gathered around it a large local representation. Robert 
was born in Little Britain, February 22d, 1762. He resided with his 
father until his fifteenth year, and attended the school of the Rev. John 
Moffat.** When the Revolution came on he joined a military company, 
mainly composed of boys of from fourteen to sixteen years of age, for 
home protection, and with this company was several times under arms, 

*John Burnet and his brotiher Thomas removed to what was called tihe "Gene- 
see Country-" Other parties wemt frtwn the neigihboriliood at the same time, among 
the number Oliver and Obarles Htimplhrey and IDiavid Boyd. The Humpihreys 
were grandsons of John Humphrey, t*he first settler on ithe Johnston patent. 
Charles Humphrey was Major Burnet's son'-in-law- They located in the present 
town of Phelps, Ontario Coumty. Charles, James, Thomas and George Burnet also 
removed to the same vicinity. 

**Thi9 school was kniown as " Moffat's Academy," from it)he fact that he gave 
insitruction in the higher branches. It was the only school in the neighborhood 
and drew its pupils in some cases from patrons nine and ten miles distant. It 
was situated on the road leading from Little Britain to WashingConville on the 
place now (1879) owned by Robert Shaw. The 'house was one sitory and a half 
with basement- The school was kept in the upper rooms. Mr. Moffat's family, 
oonsis'ting of his wife and two daughters, occupying the basement. It was partly 
if not wholy broken up during the Revolution. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 105 



and especially assisted in guarding the Hessian prisoners from Bur- 
goyne's army in 1777, who, on their march through Little Britain, en- 
camped for a night at Major Telford's tavern opposite the Burnet home- 
stead. In June, 1781, then nineteen years of age, he received from Gov. 
Clinton a commission as second lieutenant in Colonel Lamb's regiment 
of artillery, then stationed at West Point, and with his regiment at 
the capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown. Returning with the regiment to 
West Point, he remained there until the disbandment of the army, and 
commanded the rear guard in the march into the city of New York as 
the British evacuated it in November, 1783, where, after bidding Wash- 
ington farewell, at Fraunce's tavern, he folded up his epaulette and laid 
it away — a memorial which is still preserved. While stationed at West 
Point, he was one of the delegates appointed to meet W^ashington at the 
Temple (March, 1783), and particii)ate(l in the proceedings on that oc- 
casion. He was also present at a meeting of officers for the organization 
of the Society of the Cincinnati, of which he became a member.* Re- 
leased from military duty, he immediately entered upon his life-work at 
Little Britain. On the 9th of June, 1784, he married Rachael DeWitt, 
and in 1785, purchased twenty acres from his uncle, Major John Bur- 
net, and commenced housekeeping in the log cabin which his grand- 
father had occupied on his first settlement. In 1791. he purchased th-i 
remainder of his uncle's farm and took possession of the house which 
the latter had built. In 1801, he purchased of his father, James, one 
hundred acres, and thus became the owner of the original homesteac' 
of two hundred acres. In 1804, he erected the commodious mansion in 
which he resided at his death, now owned ( 1886) by his grandson, Jos- 
eph B. Burnet. He took an active part in the business affairs of his na- 
tive town and county; was Justice of the Peace and Town Clerk for a 
number of years, and Member of Assembly for two terms, 1800 and 
1804. He was frequently an executor and an administrator of estates, 
among others of the estate of General James Clinton and of Moses De- 
Witt, the latter, his wife's brother. In person he was tall and erect, with 



*Ait the tiiTi€ of his death he was the last surviving, original member of the 
Society, as well as the last surviving officer of the 'army of the Revolution. He 
died N'ov- 241th, 1854, in his 93d year. His wife Rachael DeWitt was the daughter 
of Jacob Rutsen DeWitt of Peenpack, Mrs. Geiil. James Clinton's brother. The 
acquaintance which resulted in her marriage is said to have come througli her 
visits to her aunt and especially from the continued residence of her father's fa»m- 
ily at Genl. Clinton's after the Brandt raid on 'Minisink in 1779. The General's son, 
Alexander and young Burnet were especially intimate and entered the arrny to- 
gether. Mrs. Burnett was a most excellent woman, and is especially remembered 
in her later years as a rotund, rosy-cheeked dame, who spoke the English language 
with a Dutch accent and idioms 



io6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



a kindly face and presence — a man whose integrity was never ques- 
tioned. 

Rachel DeWitt died Jime 4th, 1830, in her 68th year. Their chil- 
dren were : 

1. Alexander Clinton, born Dec. 9th, 1785; married Mary Ann Cur- 
tis, Dec. 19th. 1807, and had thirteen children: i. Robert; 2, Curtis, 3. 
Moses DeWitt; 4, Sylvester: 5, Jacob: 6, Rutsen ; 7, Alexander; 8, 
Charles; 9, Rachel Ann: 10. Sarah; 11, Mary Jane; 12. Ann Eliza; 13, 
James Alexander. Alexander Clinton died Dec. 2, 1845, aged 60 yea ■., 
his wife. Ann Curtis, is also deceased. 

2. Charles, born July 13th, 1787; married first, Elizabeth BrouTi. 
May 3rd, 1810. She died Jan. 7th, 1814, aged 23 years, leaving two 
children: i, Rachel DeWitt and 2, James. He married second, Mary 
Ann, daughter of Capt. Joseph Barber of Montgomery, May 13th, 1817, 
and had five children: i, Joseph B. ; 2, Jane Ann; 3, Charles Fowler; 4, 
Helen Eliza; 5. Robert, died in infancy. He died Nov. 9th, 1869, in '.'is 
83d year, and his wife, Mary Ann Barber, died February 19th, 1875, in 
her 82d year. 

3. Jane, born June i8th. 1789; married first, Samuel Crawford, Dec. 
15th, 1807. He died August loth, 1810, leaving i, Eunice Watkins Craw- 
ford, who married Dr. James VanKeuren. She married second, Capt. 
John Finley, May 12th, 1S12, and had i, James; 2, Robert; 3, John; 4, 
Samuel; 5, Mary Elizabeth. Robert Samuel and Mary Elizabeth aie 
dead (1879). She died Oct. 25th, 1857, aged 68 years; her husband^ 
Capt. John Finley, died March 9th 1839, aged 66 years. 2, Francis 
Crawford, known as Francis Crawford, Jr., who married and resided 
in Newburgh, from whence he removed to Detroit, Mich., where he 
died. 

4. Moses DeWitt, born Jan. 13th, 1792, married first, Margaret,, 
daughter of John Barber, July 16, 1817. She died April 14th, 1818, in he- 
27th y«ar, leaving one son, the present (1879) John Barber Burnet of 
Syracuse. He married second, Mrs. Helen Creed, of Syracuse. He was in 
service in the war of 1812, and was subsequently Sheriff of Orange 
County. He removed to Syracuse, where his uncle, Moses DeWitt was 
largely interested in real estate, and died there Dec. 29th, 1876, in his 
85th year. His wife, Helen, died April 27th, 1874, aged 76 years. 

5. Mary DeWitt. born Dec. ist, 1795; married Samuel Hall, Au- 
gust 27, 1814, and had six children: i, Margaret DeWitt; 2. Mary 
Jane; 3, Robert Burnet; 4. Rachel Ann; 5, Moses DeWitt; 6, John 
James. She died Oct. 28tjh, 1874. aged 46 years ; her husband, Samuel 
Hall, is also dead. 

6. Robert, Jr.. born May 6th, 1803, died April 23th. 1804 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 107 



DEXMSTON.* 

The Dennistoii family of New Windsor, now widely dispersed, are 
the descendants of Alexander Denniston. the brother-in-law of Charles 
Clinton and one of the company of immigrants who settled in Little 
Britain in 1730. Alexander Denniston, the father of this immi- 
grant, was an officer under St. Ruth, in 1691, at Athlone. and aided in 
the defence of that place against the English. In this contest the Irish 
troops defended their works with undaunted braver}'. In the final 
charge, in which the English were repulsed, the Irish troops set fire to 
the enemy's breastwork, destroying all their defences and pontoons and 
producing great consternation in the English camp, .\fter the reduction 
of Athlone, he accompanied St. Ruth to Kilcommeden in Roscommon, 
where the latter was killed and his forces dispersed. After this battle 
followed the i)erio(l ii; which it is said that "Ireland had no history," a 
period in which was developed nothing by tyranny on the ])art of the gov- 
ernment and bitter suffering on the part of the people. This induced 
Denniston to remove to Scotland to avoid threatened persecution. In 
1701, he returned to Ireland, where he remained quiet and secluded in 
the Town of Grenard, until the accession of George I, in 1714. when the 
Whigs obtaincrd the ascendancy and all adhering to them were taken in- 
to favor. In 1727, on the accession of George II, by bills which passed 
Parliament, five-sixths of the population of Ireland were disfranchised; 
stringent additions were also made to the penal code, and other legisla- 
tive action taken which convinced many that Ireland was to be treated 
as a conquered province, and induced them to emigrate to America. 
" This," says the author of the foregoing brief sketch, Hon. Goldsmith 
Denniston, " was the cause of the emigration of what is known as the 
Clinton company in 1729, among whom was .Vlexander Dciuiiston, son 
of the officer under St. Ruth, already described." 

Alexander Denniston (i), married fir.st Elizabeth Beatty. who died 
childless, probably on Cape Cod in 1730. second Frances Little, a fellow 
passenger on the "George and .\nne." daughter of George Little* and 
sister of James and Archibald Little, by whom he had i. James, who 
married first Jane Crawford (marriage license ( >ct. iith. 17^)0). and 
second Rachel Falls,*''' (marriage license dated Oct. 13, 1773; 2, (George 



*ProperIy Dcnnis'sou. or son of Dennis. The name goes back to a period 
when the given name of the father became the surname of his son. Dennis is the 
French form of Dionvsius was born about the middle of the century before Christ. 
The name was probably introduced in Ireland by the Normans. 

**Said to have been widow of George Falls and daughter of Peter Mulliner. 



io8 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



married first Isabella Craig, daughter of David Craig, marriage license 
dated Dec. lo, 1769), second Mary McClaughry, daughter of James Mc- 
Claughry, (marriage license dated Aug. 12, 1772), and died in 1804; 3, 
Alexander married first Nancy Gray, second Margaret J., third ]\Iartha 
Sears, (the widow Ellison), and died in 1817 aged // years; 4, William, 
married Fanny Little, and died in 1825 aged 86 years; *5, John, married 
Anna Moffat, and died in 1836 aged 85 years; 6, Charles, married the 
widow Millig"an, (Mary Blake), and died in 1808; 7, Esther married 
first Alexander Falls, second Phineas Helme; 8, Elizabeth married 
Henry Douw; 9. Mary, married, first William Mulliner, second Matthew 
DuBois; 10, Catherine married, first Edward Falls, second Samuel 
Wood. 

James (2), son of James (O. married Prudence ^Morrison, daughter 
of John Morrison and his wife Elizabeth Scott, of w'hat is now the town 
of Montgomery, and was the father of the late Hon. Robert Denniston. 
He died July 9, 1825, aged 59 years. 

Abraham, son of James (1), married Bathsheba Goldsmith and wa-> 
the father of the late Goldsmith Denniston, and the late Mrs. Aaron 
P. Johnes ofNewburgh. He died Sept. 10, 1825, aged 55 years. 

George (2) was the father of Colonel James Denniston, who was 
the father of George A. Denniston. for one term Sheriff of Orange 
County. The sons of William (4) were Isaac,* Andrew and Archi- 
bald. This branch of the family settled in Cornwall and gave to its 
local history a long list of honored names. Archibald, the youngest son 
of William, removed to Sullivan County and settled in the present Town 
of Tremont. 

".\nother branch of the descendants of Alexander, son of a brother 
of Alexander d), of Little Britain. He was a native of the county 
Longford, Ireland, from whence he came to Little Britain in 1798, and 
soon after opened a store in Newburgh. His wife, Sarah, died in Little 
Britain Dec. 11, 1813, in her 44th year, and was buried in the OHnton 
burying ground. He took an active part in the W^ar of 181 2 and attained 
the rank of Colonel of the 27th Regiment, U. S. Infantry. One author- 



*John Denniston died Jan. 7, 1836, aged 85 years and 23 days. His wife, Ann 
Moffat, died Feb. 13, 1835, aged 84 years. She was the daughter of Saml. Moffat, 
(bom in BaJlehag, county Antrim, Ireland, 1704, died at Blagg's Clove, Orange 
county, 1787), and his wife Jane, (born at Slush Hall, county of Fermanaugh, 
Ireland, 1716, O. S., died at Blaggs Clove, 1794, aged 78 years). John Denniston, 
jr., son, born Dec. 14, 1778, graduated at Yale college 1807, died Jan. 13, 1810. 
Ann,, daughter of John and Ann Denniston, married Jacob Schultz; she was born 
Jan. 22, 1780, and died Sept. 22, i849;their daughter, Mary Ann, married Thomas 
J. Fulton Samuel M., son of John and Ann Denniston, d-ed July 23, 1862, aged 
87 years. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. ioq 

ity states that he removed to the west, and anotlier, that he settled in 
SulHvan county, in 1815, in company with Archibald Denniston, referred 
to in the text. The latter located at a place now known as Denniston's 
Ford, where he died in 1863."* 

Members of the family have had part in all the principal wars of the 
country. Alexander Denniston (ij, the founder of the family, was a 
rnemiber of Capt. Ellison's New Windsor militia in 1738, and on frontier 
service in the war of 1755; Daniel, was Lieutenant in the 2d X. Y. 
Continental, 1776. ser\-ed to the end of the war, was half-jiay officer 
for life, and a member of the Cincinnati ; Georg^e L., son of Alexander 
was Adjutant in Col. James Clinton's Southern Ulster militia, (his 
five brothers were privates in the same res^iment), member of the Com 
mittee of Safety of New Windsor, 1775, Ensign, 3d N. 'S'. Continental, 
1776, promoted Lieut., served during the war, half-pay officer for life 
and member of the Cincinnati, and William, was Lieut, in Col. Clinton's 
Southern Ulster militia, 1776, and Captain of nth Co., Wallkill Pre- 
cinct, 1775. The name of another George stands on he rolls as Lieut. 
in 4'th N. Y. Continental, but we fail to place him except as son of 
George L. The name of the latter, by the way, was George L., and not 
George L as entered in several lists. 

A complete genealogy of the family has not been preserved, and the 
details which have been obtained are fragmentary. It is perhaps suffi- 
cient to say that the descendants of .\lexander Denniston are still nu- 
merous in New Windsor, Cornwall and Blooming Grove, and that he 
has representatives in other towns, in other parts of the state, and in the 
west. Taken as a whole there have been few families in the state that 
have been the peers of the soldier under St. Ruth. 

David Denniston was, it is believed, the first printer in Newburgh, 
for, although it is of record that the Ncxvburgh Packet was printed by 
Lucius Cary in 1795, a book printed the same year by David Denniston 
is in existence, and his name is associated with the publication of The 
Mirror and The Rights of Man, of Newburgh, and the American Citi- 
zen and Watch Tozver, of New York. His occupation was that of a 
printer and book-binder ; his association with newspapers is presumed 
to have grown out of his interest in the religious discussions of the era 
in which he lived. The New York Evening Post has the following 
record of his death: "At Newburgh, Dec. 13, 1803, of an inflammation 
of the lungs. Air. David Denniston, late proprietor of the American 
Citizen." In another announcement his death is recorded as having 
been from "malignant fever." His proper place in the genealogy of 

*From Ouinlan's Sullivan County. 



I JO History of The Town of New Windsor. 



the family has not been ascertained. He was a man of decided strength 
of character. 

Robert Denniston, son of James Denniston and his wife, Prudence 
Morrison, daughter of John Morrison, and his wife EHzabeth 
Scott, of the town of Montgomery, was born in what Ii 
now the town of Blooming Grove, October 15, 1800. He 
married first, Julianna Howell, September 24, 1823, who died 
without issue Feb. 21, 1825. His second wife was Mary Scoitt, only 
daughter of William Scott, of Northumberland, England, who settled 
near Elizabethtown, N. J., in 1795, and subsequently removed to New- 
burgh. By this marriage he had five sons and six daughters. He ser- 
ved as an officer of militia and as justice of the peace in his native town; 
was appointed by Governor Marcy judge of the court of common pleas 
of Orange County ; was elected member of the assembly in 1835, and 
again in 1839 and 1840, and in the fall of the latter year was elected 
senator in the second senate district, in which position he remained for 
seven years, during the whole of which time he was chairman of the 
■committee on canals, then a very important committee; by virtue of hi-i 
office he was also a member of the "court for the trial of impeachments 
and the correction of errors." In 1859 he was elected comptroller o^ 
the State, and at the close of his term retired to his farm in Blooming 
Grove, where he resided until his death, Dec. 2, 1^867. His five sons 
were in the service of the United States during the Civil War, viz. : 

William S., as volunteer surgeon died in the service; Robert, Jr., as 
paymaster's clerk, died in the service ; Henry M. was paymaster in 
the Navy and has subsequently attained the rank of Rear Admiral, he 
married Emma J. Dusenberry, they have one son, Robert; James O. was 
lieutenant in Co. G., 124th Regt., N. Y. S. Volunteers, after the war he 
entered the ministry and is a Presbyterian minister, he married Mar- 
garet Crosby, they have one daughter, Mary ; Augustus was quarter- 
master of the same regiment, and has since served two terms as mem- 
ber of Assembly for the first district of Orange County, has been presi- 
dent of the Orange County Agricultural Society since 1878, and direc- 
tor, vice-president and president of the Higliland National Bank of 
Newburgh and has filled many other positions of honor and trust. 

The six daughters of Robert Denniston and his wife Mary Scott were 
JuHana H., who married Edward Stevens of Buffalo, and died leaving 
a son who died young, and a daug'hter Catherine C, who married Frank 
B. Phillips ; Mary S., who married Walter R. Marsh of New York city, 
and has one daughter^ Antoinette, who married Wil'lard C. Reid ; Caro- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i i i 



line M., unmarried; Jane C, wlio married R. Emmet Deyo of New 
York and has four daughters, CorneUa. Juliana, Marji^aret and EveHne ; 
Abbey L., unmarried, and Ag-nes, who died in 1868. 

Goldsmith Denniston, son of Abraham and grandson of James and 
Prudence Denniston, was born in the town of New Windsor, where 
he resided until 1838, when he removed to Newburgh and engaged in 
mercantile business, from whence he removed to Steuben county. He 
was elected member of assembly in 1838, and from Steuben county in 
1858. He was also judge of the court of common pleas of Orange 
county from April, 1841, to the expiration of the court under the con- 
stitution of 1847. By his wife, Fanny, he had Abraham, Harvey G., 
and Aaron J. Abraham was born in New Windsor in 1827; enlisted 
as a volunteer in the 107th Regiment, August, 1862 ; died in hospital 
at Washington, Feb. 5th, 1863. Harvey G., born .August 27,, 1829; 
enlisted in Co. G, 107th Regiment, August, 1862; promoted second 
lieutenant; resigned in 1864; subsequently captain of Co. C, i88th Regi- 
ment; mustered out July i, 1865. Aaron J., commissioned second lieu- 
tenant Co. D, i88th Regiment, in 1864, but was compelled to resign 
soon after entering the service. 

JOHN LITTLE. 

John Little, gentlemen, as written in his will, and Rev. John Little, 
.as of other record, was an early settler in the original town, and gave 
to his plantation of many acres the name of "Stoncfield," where he 
erected, in 1745, the stone mansion which is still standing and is known 
as "The Denniston or Robert's House," and in local notings as "Moffat's 
Academy." The house is now in the town of Blooming Grove, near 
Salisbury Mills. His sister, Fanny, was the wife of Alexander Den- 
niston, and Alexander Denniston's sister was the wife of Charles Clin- 
ton, from which fact it is presumed that he was one of the Clinton com- 
pany who immigrated from Ireland in 1729-30. After his death his 
mansion was occupied by his son-in-law. Rev. John Moffat, who con- 
ducted therein a private school. James Denniston bought the property 
from the heirs of John Moffat, and sold to James Roberts. 

Very little is known of Rev. John Little. By his wife, Frances, 
who survived him, he had, as noted in his will, dated Feb. 21, 1753. five 
daughters, viz: i, Elizabeth; 2, Frances, who married John Nicoll, of 
New Windsor, and had son, Isaac, who was Sheriff of Orange County 
during the Revolution and executed Claudius Smith, the noted partizan ; 
3, Elinor, who married John McGarrah, of Cornwall, and had son, 



1 12 HisTOKY OF The Town of New Windsor. 



John ; 4, Hannah, who married David Gallatian, of what is now Walden, 
and had sons John and David, as named in will of John Little, and pre- 
sumably James, who administered the estate of David in 1760; 5, Mar- 
garet, who married Rev. John Moffat, as stated above, and had son, 
John Little Moffat, who located in Goshen prior to the Revolution; 
Elizabeth, married, it is presumed, John McLean, of Cornwall, in 1762, 
as per marriage license dated June loth of that year. It is said that 
Rev. John Moffat has no descendants now residents of Orange County. 
John Nicoll was married twice. From his son, Isaac, he was repre- 
sented in the war of the Rebellion by Captain Isaac Nicoll, of Bloom- 
ing Grove. David Gallatian was the holder of a patent for 1,000 acres 
of land on the west side of Wallkill river, at Walden, June 14, 1719. 
His grandson (?) James conducted a mill at Walden. and descendants 
?re still met in Orange County. John McGarrah has, or did have 
until recently, descendants bearing his name in the town of Monroe. 
John McLean, 2d, was a paymaster in the army of the Revolution, and 
later Commissary-General of the state of New York, although this is 
not certain. 

The descendants of Rev. John Little, through his daughters, were 
among the most useful and substantial members of the Colonial era. 

THE ELLISON FAMILY. 

The Ellisons, of New Windsor, are the descendants of Cuthbert 
Ellison, of New Castle-on-Tyne, merchant, sheriff of New Castle in 
1544, and mayor in 1549-54; died 1580. His children were Robert, 
William, George, and Cuthbert. The latter was the father of Ben- 
jamin, who was the father of Robert, who was the father of John, born 
February 11, 1647. 

John Ellison emigrated from New Castle-on-Tyne, England, accom- 
panied by his sister, Elizabeth Finch, and her two daughters, in 
1688,* during the reign of James II. In 1691, after a legal residence 
of three years, he was admitted a freeman of the city of New York, 
where he became a merchant, and amassed what for those times was a 
large fortune. The city then was of small dimensions, the business 
portion lying about Broad and Bridge streets. Broadway was laid out, 
and extended from the foot of Bowling Green to the Palisades at Wall 
street, erected to prevent the incursions of the Indians. It contained 
forty-five houses. Mr. Ellison made his principal investments in real 



*The fact rerftains unexplained that among the inhabitants of Hempstead, L. I., 
in 1673, were John Ellison and John Ellison, Jr. Thomas Ellison and Thomas El- 
lison, Jr., and Richard Ellison. — Doc. Hist. N. Y., i, 658. There is remarkable 
similarity in the names whatever may have been the family connection, if any. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



JI3 



estate in the business part of the town, near the Great Dock, and what 
is now known as Whitehall. In 1703, he purchased of Matthew Hutch- 
ins a piece of land described as being "in the country" and "without 
the north gate of the city," bounded by Little Queen street, Thames 
and Lumbard street, the latter being its easterly boundary, and extending 
thence to Hudson's river. Here he erected dwellings and built a wharf; 
the maps of 1728 show the Ellison dock, it being one of the four at that 
time existing on the west side of the city. Portions of this purchase 
still remain in the possession of his descendants. 

In 1718, to secure the payment of a certain sum of money loaned to 
William Sutherland, he received from that person the deeds of a tract 
of land "lying in the precinct of the Highlands, at a place afterwards 
called New Windsor." This property was the southerly third part of 
what is known as the "Chambers and Sutherland patent." * His title 
was perfected in 1723, at which time his son, Thomas, was living upon 
it. He died in 1724, leaving a widow, Eleanor, and four sons: i, John; 
2, Thomas; 3, William; and 4, Joseph. The two former continued the 
mercantile business established by their father, while the two latter 
(William and Joseph) followed the sea, making voyages to the West 
Indies and South America. John (i) married Mary Van Imburgh, 
daughter of Gysbert Van Imburgh, who lived in "The Broadway." He 
died in 1725, leaving two children, John and Mary. John married 
Mary Wessels, and Mary married John Jeffreys. William (3) married 

Mary , and left but one child, a daughter, who married Robert 

Cromeline. Joseph (4) married Margaret . He died in 1733 

without issue. 

Thomas (2), in whose history we are more immediately interested, 
was born in 1701. He was married in 1723, by Rev. Mr. Bull, Dutch 
minister, in New York, to Margaret, daughter of Francis Garrabrant, 
merchant. He immediately removed to the property at New Windsor, 
purchased by his father, and commenced improving it. From the de- 
scription in the survey made at the time — "commencing at a certain 
tree on the shore and running thence directly into the woods" — it will 
be inferred that the tract was mainly in its primal condition. His 
house, a Dutch cottage in style — which nearly sixty years afterwards 
became the headquarters of Washington — was situated on a bluff over- 
looking the river, and was probably erected about 1723-4. **He also built 



♦Ante p 
**There is a tradition that he first lived in a log house, but such was not the 
fact. The log house was built for his negro slaves, a number of whom were set- 
tled upon the property some six months before he came to reside upon it. The 
occupations of the homestead by Washington is referred to in another part of this 
volume. 



1 14 History of The Town of New Windsor, 



a dock and a large warehouse, established a line of sloops from thence to 
his father's, at the foot of Little Queen street, and became in a few 
years the principal merchant and banker, not only of the neighborhood, 
but of a very considerable portion of the district now embraced in the 
county of Orange. In 1754, he erected the old stone building known 
as the "Ellison House," near Vail's Gate, after the style of the farm 
houses of his English forefathers; the mason was Wm. Bull (husband 
of Sarah Wells, the reputed first white woman on the Wawayanda 
patent). At the same time he built the mill where for very many years 
was converted into flour and meal the grain of the inhabitants of a 
large section of country, and whose busy wheel continued in motion 
for over a century. The old house, though so many years have elapsed 
since its foundations were laid, is still as sound as ever, and bids fair 
to last another century. It is one and a half stories high with 
dormor windows and irregular roof. The chimneys are very massive, 
covering nearly one side of a room, and are entirely covered with 
paneling; the original fire-places very large and adapted to the burning 
of wood. At the time of the occupation of this neighborhood by the 
American army, the mansion became the headquarters of General 
Knox,* and on a window of the parlor, scratched with a diamond, is 
still to be seen, the names of three of the belles of Revolutionary times — 
Sally Janson, Getty Winkoop and Maria Golden. 

There were few larger landed proprietors. In addition to the Suth- 
erland tract, he purchased, in 1724, the Vincent Matthews patent of 800 
acres adjoining. In 1737 a patent for about 2,000 acres, in three 
several parcels, was granted him by the government; in 1750 he ob- 
tained patent for six several parcels embracing 3,554 acres, and in 1753 
patents for two parcels embracing 1,080 acres; at the latter date he was 
also granted patent for 31 acres of land under water at New Windsor, 
covering the entire front of his property on the Hudson to a distance 
of 600 feet from high-water mark. The record of his land purchases 
in addition to the foregoing is altogether too voluminous for publica- 
tion in this connection. 

When he first came to New Windsor, he was appointed Deputy 
Queen's Ranger under Cadwallader Golden, an office involving no little 
local administration. In 1738 he was captain of "the foot company of 
military of the precinct of the Highlands" ; and in 1756 he was com- 
missioned colonel of the second regiment of militia of Ulster county, 
continuing his duties in that capacity until the outbreak of the Revolu- 
tion in 1775. His command was in service on the western frontiers of 

♦Ante p. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i i 



the county against the Indians, and also in the expedition for the relief 
of Fort Wm. Henry in 1757. He was also a local magistrate. 

He died in 1784, at the advanced age of 79 years, nearly sixty years 
of his life having been spent in New Windsor. His wife died in 1783. 
He was the father of eleven children, seven of whom survived him, viz: 

1. Elizabeth, born in 1726, married Cadwallader Golden, Jr., of 
Coldenham. They had twelve children, of whom throe died in infancy, 
and three before reaching maturity.* Her surviving children were: 
Cadwallader, Thomas, Alexander, l^avid, Alice, Margaret. 

2. Margaret, born 1728, married John Crooke. 

3. Eleanor, born 1730, died unmarried. 

4. Thomas, born 1732, married Mary Reck, of New York. 

5. Mary, born 1733, died unmarried. 

6. John, lx)rn 1736, married Catharine Johnson, of Kingston. 

7. William, born 1739, married Mary Floyd, of Long Island. 
Margaret (2), who married John Crooke, had but one child, a 

daughter. Her father dying when quite young, she was brought up 
by her grandfather. She married Rev. Charles Inglis, an English 
clergyman attached to Trinity church in New York.** 

Thomas (4), after having served his father for a number of years, 
went to New York, where, in connection with his father and brothers 

*Her husband writes of her in 1796: "She is of the name of Ellison, an Eng- 
lish family, the most respectable then in this neighborhood, and also wealthy. We 
have now lived together about tifty years, and, I believe, no fifty years were spent 
haopicr by any one pair." — Eai^cr's Orange Co. 247. 

**Charles Inglis, D. D-, was bom in 1734. He conducted a free school at Lan- 
caster, Pa., from 1755 to 1758, when he was recommended to the Bishop of Lon- 
don for orders. On receiving ordination in England, he returned to America in 
July, 1759, and entered on his mission as pastor to the church of Dover, Pa. 
Here he lost his first wife. Sometime after this he removed to New York, where 
he became assistant to the Rev. Dr. Auchmuty, in 1765, whom he succeeded in 
1777. He was an active leader in the cause of the crown, and refused the request 
to omit prayers for the King on the occasion of Washington's visit to Trinity. 
Pending the outbreak of hostilities he removed (1775) his family, then consisting 
of his second wife and three children, Mrs. Crooke, (his mother-in-law), and 
four servants to Goshen for safety. In 1776 he obtained permission from the 
Provincial Convention, of New York, for their return to New York by flag of 
truce, and they accordingly returned, (via New Windsor), in one of Mr. Ellison's 
sloops. Having been included in the act of attainder of 1779. the return of peace 
rendered it obligatory on him to leave the States. He accordingly accompanied 
some loyalists of his congregation to Annapolis, N. S- He was consecrated Bishop 
of that Province on the 12th -Aug.. 1787. and was appointed member of the Pro- 
vincial Council in 1809. He died in 1816, aged 82 years. His son John was the 
third Protestant Bishop of Nova Scotia. — Doc. Hist. N- Y., iii. 1066, ck. Prov 
Com. N. y., I. 1746. 748; ii 249. Haivkuis' Missons. One of his daughters mar- 
ried Judge Haleburton, author of "Sam Slick," etc. In 1778 he procured the re- 
lease of Major DuBois, of Salisbury's Mills, taken prisoner at Fort Montgomery, 
and had him sent home on parole. 



1 1 6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



John and William, in New Windsor, he carried on a large business in 
breadstuffs. His place of business was at Coenties and Old Slip, and 
his residence in later years at 13 Broadway. He became a man of 
large wealth, and at his death, in 1796, left to the Episcopal church in 
New Windsor a generous endowment. His family servants were all 
remembered; those too old to enjoy freedom were provided for for the 
rest of their days. He left no children. 

John (6), inherited that portion of his father's landed estate lying 
about what is now Vail's Gate. He took possession of the old stone 
mansion erected by his father at that place and lived therein until his 
death in 1814. In religious belief he was an ardent admirer of Wesley, 
and religious services in the Methodist faith were held for a long time 
in one of his tenant houses. As the members of the congregation in- 
creased and a large building became necessary, he interested himself in 
erecting a new edifice on his own land. This was the first Methodist 
church in Orange county. His house, as already stated, was the head- 
quarters of General Knox during the encampment. The timber on 
his farm was mainly cut down for firewood for the army, for which 
he was awarded compensation.* He left no children. 

William (7), who married Mary, daughter of Benjamin Floyd, of 
Brookhaven, L. I., resided with his father in the homestead at New 
Windsor village. He succeeded him in his business at New Windsor, 
but after the Revolution the business declined in favor of the greater 
advantages possessed by Newburgh, and ultimately ceased. He served 
as captain in the second regiment of militia of Ulster county (his 
father being colonel), under commission bearing date Dec. 13th, 1772. 
His name also appears among the judiciary of the county as judge of 
common pleas in 1782. He died in 1810, leaving three children, viz: 

I. Thomas, who married Harriet Rumsey, of Maryland, daughter 
of Col. Chas. Rumsey, of the Revolutionary army. He left eight chil- 
dren, viz: I, Mary Jane, who married Thomas DeLancey; 2, Eliza, 
who married Dr. Edward Bullus ; 3, Henrietta, who married Chas. F. 
Morton**; 4, John, who married Mary A. Ross (died in 1835, leaving 
two sons, Robert R. and Charles L. Ellison) ; 5, Caroline, who married 
Edmund Morton; 6, Emily, who married John L. Morton; 7, Thomas, 

*Joshua Sears and Matthew Smith, appraisers, awarded him "for timber and 
firewood in the years 1777 and '78, to the amount of two thousand cords and in 
the years '79, '80 and '81, four thousand and fifty cords; also for one hundred 
large trees for timber for the use of the garrison at West Point, which amounts 
to two hundred cords of wood." 

**Chas. F. Morton occupied for several years the homestead of John Ellison, at 
Vail's Gate. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i i 7 



who married Mary A. Ellison (has three children, Mary A., Thomas 
W., and Matilda) ; 8, Charlotte, who married William C. Maitland. 

2. Elizabeth, who married Benjamin Floyd, of Long Island. She 
died without issue. 

3. Margaret, who married John Blackburn Miller, of New York, 
and left three children, viz: i. Wm. Ellison Miller; 2, Christopher; 
3, Mary E. 

There was much in the business career of Col. Thomas Ellison, 
much in his experience in pioneer life, and much in his example that 
deserve a more complete record. There were few men who enjoyed 
more unreservedly the confidence of the people of the district. He was 
their agent, their adviser, their merchant, their banker, and their mili- 
tary commander. Through his family connection with Governor Col- 
den, he was for years influential with the government of the province, 
and through his personal kindness and aid to the Clintons, secured 
their aid at a time when perhaps political necessity made it most es- 
sential. His conduct during the Revolution comes down to us some- 
what obscure. In the early stages of the trouble with England he was 
with the remonstrants against the measures of the ministry ; but with 
large property interests in New York as well as in Ulster county, he 
was peculiarly situated — the one he could not retain, after the British 
troops gained possession of the city, without allegiance to the crown ; 
the other was lost without allegiance to the revolutionary government 
of New York. Precisely how the difficulty was met is perhaps of little 
moment; it is sufficient to know that the Ellison estates suffered no 
losses from the war, except those incident to business, and that the 
founder of the family lived and died very greatly respected. 

The business at New Windsor was continued during the war so far 
as it could be from the almost total suspension of intercourse with New 
York. It is said that at the time of the reduction of the forts in the 
Highlands, when the people of New Wind.sor, as well as of other ex- 
posed settlements, hastily fled to the country, William Ellison, then 
occupying the homestead (Col. Ellison being in New York), gathered 
up the plate and jewelry of the family and deposited in the bottom of 
the smoke house, covered it with earth and ashes, lighted the cob fire and 
left a number of hams on the poles. When the alarm passed over and 
he returned the hams were gone, but the treasure was safe. However 
true the story may be, it is a well attested fact that Col. Thomas Ellison 
was for many years in the habit of burying his accumulations of coin 
in his garden. At his death he left a chart of his deposits by which it 



1 1 8 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



was all recovered by his heirs except perhaps a single pot.* There is 
now very little of the Ellison estate in the hands of the family. 

THE NICOLL FAMILY. 

The ancestor of the Nicoll family of New Windsor was Dr. John 
Nicoll, of Scotland, who came to New York in 171 1. He was an earn- 
est Presbyterian, and appears very soon after his arrival to have been 
at work in the interest of that denomination, having in 1716, in com- 
pany with Patrick McKnight, Gilbert Livingston, and Thomas Smith, 
organized the Wall street Presbyterian church, the first society under 
the discipline of the church of Scotland in New York city. Samuel 
Miller, D. D., in his memoir of the Rev. John Rodgers. D. D., a late 
pastor of this society, says of Dr. Nicoll : "His exertions in behalf of 
the church in New York were as useful as they were unwearied." In 
a sermon preached on the occasion of his death, by the Rev. Dr. Pem- 
berton, at that time pastor of the church, which was afterward pub- 
lished, the speaker said : "These walls will be a lasting monument to 
his (Dr. Nicoll's) zeal for the house and the public worship of God; 
in the erecting of which he spent a considerable part of his estate, and 
undertook a hazardous voyage to Europe,** for the establishment of 
security of this infant society. Upon these and other accounts too 
numerous to be mentioned, while a Presbyterian church subsists in the 
city of New York, the name of Nicoll will ever be remembered with 
honor as one of its principal founders and its greatest benefactor." 

Dr. Nicoll was an early purchaser of land covered by the Minisink 
patent; and also of patents in New Windsor and Cornwall, holding at 
the time of his death 14,500 acres. Of these lands falling more par- 
ticularly in the field of this volume, may be enumerated the following, 
viz : On the 7th October, 1734, he purchased from John Waldron, 
Cornelius Van Home and James Livingston, one hundred and sixty 
acres at Plum Point, being the lands granted by patent August 6, 1720, 
to "Patrick Mac Gregorie, otherwise called Peter MacGregory." From 
the same parties, two thousand acres previously granted by patent to 
John Lawrence, excepting one hundred acres for which a deed had 
been given to John McLean. This purchase was subsequently known 
as the Bethlehem tract. From the same parties, seven hundred and 



*A pot containing some $600 was unearthed by Mr. H. F. Corwin in 1869. 
There was no eivdence in regard to its ownership. It may or may not have been 
a part of Mr. Ellison's treasure. 

* ^During the visit to Europe here referred to, Dr. NicoM was made Burger and 
Guild Brother of the Burgh of Linlithgow, Scotland. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i iq 



sixty-five acres, which had also been patented to John Lawrence, ad- 
joining the Bethlehem tract — excepting one hundred acres previously 
sold to David Sutherland. From the same parties, six small islands 
in the mouth of Murderer's creek, containing about seven acres. On 
the I2th April, 1838, he purchased of Peter Post and Anne, his wife, 
five hundred acres on the north bank of Murderer's creek and imme- 
diately west of Plum Point.* On the Plum Point lands he erected a 
homestead house, still in good preservation, its site being that or near 
that of the log house built by Patrick MacGregorie in 1685. This 
homestead remains in his descendants as well as the principal part of 
the purchase from Peter Post. 

Dr. Nicoll married IVIrs. Rebecca Ransford, nee Dowden, of Boston. 
Mass. He lived in New York city, where he died October 2, 1743, in 
his sixty-fourth year. He was buried under the communion table in 
the Wall street church. His children were: (i) John^ (2) Mar- 
garet^. 

(i) John Nicoll^ was sent to Scotland to be educated and graduated 
at the University of King James at Edinburgh, where his father re- 
ceived his degree. He married (marriage license Sept. 7, 1736) Fran- 
ces Little, daughter of Rev. John Little and Frances Fitzgerald, of 
Stoncficld. *-Thcir children were: (3) John^ (4) Leonard Dowden', 
(5) Isaac^ (6) William^ 

(2) Margaret-, daughter of Dr. John Nicoll, married, first, Isaac 
DuBois, and second Rev. Alex. Gumming, of New York. She had 
one daughter by her first husband, Margaret DuBois. 

John (3), Leonard D. (4), and Isaac (5), were all more or less 
active for the colonies in the war of the Revolution. John (3) occu- 
pied the homestead on Plum Point, and was there probably soon after his 
marriage. He was commissioned second lieutenant in Col. Ellison's 
regiment of militia, Dec. 15. 1763, by Gov. Golden, and again by Gov. 
Tryon, Dec. 9, 1772. In May, 1775, he was chosen one of the com- 
mittee of safety of New Windsor, and identified himself fully with the 
revolution. On the 20th September of the same year, he was com- 
missioned captain in second Ulster regiment of militia, under Colonel 
James Clinton, and was on duty in the frequent services in which that 



*The deed to Peter Post is dated July 22, 1732, and was from George lii- 
goldsby, son of Mary Ingoldsby and lieutenant-governor Richard Ingoldsby. The 
pdateau above the creek is called "Post HiJl," in deeds of over one hundred years 
ago. 

**The Little's were among the members of the Clinton colony. Fanny Little 
was the wife of Alexander Denniston, and George Little, one of the charter party 
of 1729- 



I20 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



reg-iment had part, and especially in the short but sharp campaign in 
defence of the Highland forts and the march for the protection of 
Kingston. He was associated with Captain Machin in the construction 
of the booms and chains for the obstruction of Hudson's river, and 
rendered other important public services. He married Hannah Youngs, 
daughter of Abimael Youngs and Phebe Birdsey, of Wallkill precinct, 
Jan. 26, 1766, and had: (7) Abimael Youngs*, (8) Francis*, (9) John 
Dowden*, and (10) Leonard William*. He died at the old homestead 
on Plum Point, Sept. 27, 1783. 

Leonard Dowden Nicoll* was also a captain in Colonel James Clin- 
ton's regiment of militia, and was in service at Fort Montgomery at 
the time of its capture. He was also on frontier duty. In 1778-80 
he was a member of the committee of safety of New Windsor. He 
married Ruth Birdsley, Dec. 18, 1768. Their children were: (11) Eliza- 
beth*, and (12) John*. His father built a house for him on the site 
now occupied by the house belonging to the estate of his grandson, the 
late Ethelbert B. Nicoll.* He died there June 12, 1815. 

Isaac NicolP was commissioned colonel of minute men, Jan. 5, I77^» 
and immediately following was placed in command of the forts in the 
Highlands, then being constructed, "until the arrival of a proper con- 
tinental officer, or until otherwise ordered." He continued in this 
duty until relieved by Lieutenant-Colonel Livingston in May following, 
and for "his faithful service and his strict attention to the public in- 
terests" was given a vote of thanks by the provincial convention of New 
York. The minute-men having been disbanded in June, 1776, he was, 
on the 1 2th July following, commissioned colonel of militia of Orange 
county, to go into immediate service under a resolution calling out 
one-fourth of the militia. In this capacity he was in command at 
Haverstraw, Aug. '''th ; at Moriscaug, Sept. 29th, and at Peekskill, Dec 
I2th. On the 24th September, 1777, he was appointed by Gov. Clin- 
ton sheriff of Orange county, and served in that office until March 22, 
1781. In this capacity he had charge of the execution of Claudius 
Smith and several of his band of outlaws. In 1783, he moved to New 
Jersey, where, for a number of years, he was a member of the state 
legislature. He married Deborah Woodhull, sister of General Na- 
thaniel Woodhull and daugliter of Nathaniel Woodhull and Sarah 
Smith, of Mastic, L. I., May 20, 1763. Their children were: (13) 
Frances*, (14) John*, (15) Sarah*, (16) Nathaniel W.*, (17) Walter 
D.*, (18) William*, (19) Sarah*, (20) Elizabeth*, (21) Margaret*, 

*This house was burned in 1780, and another erected. The latter was taken 
down and the present, third, one erected by (12) John 4. 



PJfiSTORY OF The Town of New Windsor. j 2 i 



(22) Julia*. He resided for some years in New Windsor, and sub- 
sequently at Goshen. He died Oct. 9, 1804, at Scrawlingborough, near 
Hackensack, New Jersey. 

William Nicoll (6), choosing a sea-faring life, owned and com- 
manded different merchant vessels. He was not in the country dur- 
ing the Revolution. He married Ann Bicknall, of Plymouth, Eng- 
land, which place he made his home, and died there Sept. i, 1808, leav- 
ing two children, William and Elizabeth. 

(7) Abimael Young Nicoll , oldest son of John (3), was commis- 
sioned lieutenant in U. S. artillery, March 4, 1791 ; was promoted to 
the ranks of captain and major, and on the 13th March, 1813. was 
made adjutant and inspector-general with the rank of colonel. He re- 
signed his commission June i, 1814. He married Caroline Agnes Led- 
better, daughter of Col. Drury Ledbetter and Winifred Lanier, of Vir- 
ginia, in 1792. Their children were: (2;^) John C^, (24) William H."^, 
(25) James S.\ (26) Charles H.^ (27) Alexander Y."^, (28) Lewis 
F.', (29) Caroline W.^ (30) George A."^, (31) Francis E.^, (32) Fred- 
erick''. His descendants are living in Georgia. 

(8) Frances Nicoll*, daughter of John (3), married William Ber- 
nard Gififord, son of Arthur and Mary Gifford, of Flatbush, L. L, June 
20, 1792. 

(9) John Dowden Nicoll*, son of John (3), married (11) Mrs. 
Elizabeth Woodhull (nee Nicoll), Jan. 28, 1802. Their children were: 
(33) Eliza Ann^ (34) John W.^ (35) Leonard D.^ He lived in the 
old homestead, now belonging to the estate of his son, (35) Leonard 
Dowden NicolP, until 1843, when he removed to a new house about 
half a mile north. 

(35) Leonard Dowden Nicoll', married Arietta Denton, daughter of 
Henry Denton and Sarah Bedford, of Goshen, June 26, 1838. Their chil- 
dren were: John Dowden, Sarah, Wm. Leonard, Henry D., Elizabeth, 
and Francis G. He dropped "Dowden" from his name when (12) 
John Nicoll* named one of his sons Leonard Dowden. His eldest son, 
John D,, married Helen Irene Lee, daughter of Leonard Lee and Ann 
Maria Graham, of New Windsor, May 15, 1861. They had no chil- 
dren. His second son, Henry D., married Anna, daughter of Dr. Will- 
iam and Ellen M. Camac, of Philadelphia, Oct. 16, 1877. His young- 
est son, Francis G., married Alice, daughter of Joseph H. and Cornelia 
Scranton, of Scranton, Pa., Oct. 13, 1775, and had one child, Leonard. 

(10) Leonard William Nicoll*, never married. 

(11) Elizabeth Nicoll*, married Nathaniel Woodhull, son of Col. 
Jesse Woodhull and Hester DuBois, of Blagg's Clove, Sept. 3, 1787. 



1 2 2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



There was only one child, who died in infancy. Nathaniel Woodhull 
was born Oct. i, 1758, and died April 12, 1799. 

(12) John Nicoll . married Anna Williams, daughter of Jonas Will- 
iams and Abigail Brewster (daughter of Elder Samuel Brewster), of 
New Windsor, Oct. 2g, 1802. Their children were: (36) Helen M.', 
(37) Frances E.^ (38) Ruth^ (39) Leonard D.^ (40) Leonard D.^ 
(41) Mary A.», (42) John W.^ (43) Ethelbert B.^ (44) Jonas W.^ 
His father left him his house and land, which now belong to the estate 
of his son, Ethelbert B. Nicoll. 

(37) Frances E. NicolP, married George W. Johnes, son of Dr. 
Timothy Johnes and Abigail Blanchard, of Morristown, N. J., June 
5. 1827. 

(38) Ruth NicolP, married John Richard Caldwell, son of Richard 
Caldwell and Maria Chandler, of Blooming Grove, Sept. 13, 1831. 
Charles Caldwell, of Newburgh, is her son. 

(40) Leonard D. NicolP, married Ann, daughter of Gen'l Gilbert 
O. Fowler and Rachel Ann Walker, of NewburgTi, Oct. 23, 1839. Their 
children are : Gilbert Ogden Fowler and Edward Leonard. 

(41) ]\Iary A. NicolP, married Enoch L. Fancher, son of Samuel 
M. Fancher and Matilda Lewis, June 11, 1840. 

(42) John W. NicolP, married Elizabeth P. Craig, daughter of 
James J. and Harriet P. Craig, of 'Craigville, Sept. 28, 1843. 

(43) Ethelbert B. NicolP, married Frances F. Randolph, daughter 
of Hugh F. and Sarah N. Randolph, of Bloomfield, N. J., Oct. 19, 1853. 
Their children are: Helen M., Anna R., Frances L., Mary G. F., and 
John William. 

(18) William NicolP married Euphemia, daughter of Frederick and' 
Mary Ten Eyck Fine, of New York, June 16, 1796. Their children were: 
(45) Willianl^ (46) John ^ and (47) Mary F.^ 

(45) William NicolP, son of William Nicoll (iS), married Mary^ 
Montfort Brinkerhoff, daughter of John V. D. L. Brinkerhoff and Sarab 
Montfort, of Fishldll, Sept. 28, 1823. Their children were: William,. 
Mary M., Euphemia F., William J. and George Z. Some of these- 
reside at Middle Hope, Orange County. 

(46) John NicolP, son of William Nicoll (18), married, second, 
Mrs. Elizabeth Howell Denniston, daughter of Judge Nathan White 
and Fanny Howell, of Blooming Grove, Dec. 21, 1855. Their children 
by this marriage were: John M., Augustus W., Isaac, Julianna, Charles, 
Edward, Charles and Elizabeth W., some of whom are living at Wash- 
ingtonville. There was one child, William, by former marriage. 



History of The Town of New Windsor 



1 2\ 



THE JOHN YOUNG FAMILY. 

The John Young family, of Little Britain, sprang (maternally) from 
the same stock as Colonel Charles Clinton. In "a genealogical and 
biographical sketch, written by Joseph Young," in 1807, it is said: 
"James Clinton, Esquire, who lived near Belfast, in the North of Ire- 
land, had a sister named Margaret, and one son, named Charles, and 
two daughters, viz : Christiana and Mary. James Clinton's sister, Mar- 
garet Clinton, was married to my great-grandfather, John Parks, and 
had a son named John (who was the grandfather of Arthur Parks), and 
two daughters. Jane and Barbara." About the year 1700, the whole 
connection removed to the county of Longford, and lived nearly con- 
tiguous to each other near Edgeworthstown, where Jane Parks (daugh- 
ter of Margaret Clinton Parks), was married to my grandfather, John 
Young, and had a son named John Young, 2d, and a daughter, Mary ; 
and my grand-aunt, Barbara Parks (sister of Jane Parks and daugh- 
ter of Margaret Clinton Parks), was married to John Crawford, and 
had three sons, viz : T^Iatthew, Alexander and Joseph, and a daughter 
named Mary. After my grandfather, John Young, died, his widow, 
Jane Parks, was married to Thomas Armstrong," who died on the 
passage to America, in 1729. Jane Parks- Young- Armstrong died at 
Little Britain. Feb. 5th, 1761. aged 84 years, as inscribed on her monu- 
inent in the Clinton burial ground at Little Britain. John Young. 2d, 
son of John Young, ist, and his wife, Jane Parks, married his cousin, 
Mary Crawford, and her husband, John Crawford, and daughter of Bar- 
bara Parks, sister of Jane Parks, wife of John Young, ist. A sketch more 
particularly of the descendants of John Young and his wife, Mary Craw- 
ford, is appended. 

John Young, 2d. one of the immigrants with Charles Clinton in 
1729, was born in Ireland in 1702. His wife was Mary Crawford, 
granddaughter of Margaret Clinton and John Parks. She was born in 
Ireland in 1704. and. according to the sketch of the family by her son, 
Joseph, was living in the vicinity of .\lbany in 1807. at the age of 103 
years. He settled on the Johnston patent, east of the Clinton home- 
stead, his deed dating Aug. 22, 1730, on which day Clinton also received 
deed. He sold to John Welling, about 1764, and removed to the 
White Creek district* in what is now Washington county, and from 
thence to the residence of his son. Joseph, in Albany, soon after the 



*The names of John Young. Andrew McClaug-hry. Richard McClaughn.' and 
Matthew AlcClaughn.' appear on the records of White Creek in 1774. but their 
settlement was made there at an earlier period. 



124 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

outbreak of the war of the revolution. He died in 1784, aged 82 years. 
His children were: i, Thomas; 2, Joseph; 3, John; 4, Isaac; 5, Jane; 
6. Mary; 7, Barbara. 

Thomas Young (i) was born in Little Britain, Feb. 19, 183 1 ; died 
at Philadelphia in June, 1777. He was an apt scholar in his youth, 
and subsequently studied medicine, attaining high rank in his profes- 
sion. He located at Sharon, Conn., from which he removed to Albany 
in 1764. While here he was not only active in his profession, but also 
in the political measures in which the colony embarked in opposition 
to the stamp act. In the fall of 1766 he removed to Boston, Mass., 
where 'his political proclivities soon gave him rank with the most ex- 
treme men of the Hancock and Adams school, and rendered himself 
specially obnoxious to the local officers of the British government from 
his leadership of the band of "Mohawks," so called, who threw over- 
board the cargo of tea in Boston Harbor, Dec. i6th, 1778, for which, 
s.nd other activities against the British government, he was among 
the number designated for arrest and transportation to England for 
trial for high treason. To escape arrest he fled to Newport, whence 
he was followed by the officers of the frigate Rose, and barely escaped 
seizure by flight in the night. He found refuge in Philadelphia, where he 
fell into some practice, and when the general army hospital was estab- 
lished there he was appointed its senior physician with the celebrated 
Dr. Rush, and had its chief care until his death. While at Sharon, 
Conn., he married Mary, daughter of Captain Winegar, by whom he 
had two sons and four daughters, viz : Rosmond, John, Susan, Cath- 
erine, Sarah, and Mary. Rosmond died young. Susan married Mr. 
Knies, of Philadelphia, and had two sons, Thomas Y. and John; she 
died in 1803 or '04, and her sons, Thomas Y. and John, removed to the 
westward of Albany, where their grandmother resided with them. 
John, the only son of Thomas (i), who survived him, studied medicine 
with his father and was mate in the hospital at Philadelphia until his 
father's death, when he was transferred to the army hospital at Albany, 
then under charge of his uncle, Joseph. At the close of the war he re- 
roved to Fayette county, Pennsylvania, and from thence to Henderson- 
ville, Tenn., where he was killed by a fall from his horse in November, 
1805. He married Mary Hammond, of Fayette, Pa., by whom he had 
four children : Mary, Thomas, William, and Sarah. Catherine, the 
second daughter of Thomas (i), married Daniel Castle, who removed 
near Canandaigua Lake, where she died. Sarah, the third daughter, 
married Mr. Clark, of Sharon or Amenia; and Mary, the fourth daugh- 
ter, married a Doctor Strong. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



125 



Joseph Young- (2), the second son of John and Mary Young, was 
born in Little Britain, Feb. 7, 1733. He also studied medicine, prin- 
cipally with Doctor Alex. Clinton, and after his death, with his brother, 
Doctor Thomas Young. When his brother removed to Boston in 1765, 
hp remained in Albany in private practice until early in 1776, when he 
was appointed by order of Gen'l Montgomery to establish and superin- 
tend a hospital there for the reception of the sick of the northern army, 
in which charge he remained, with only temporary interruption, until 
May 4, 1784, when the establishment was broken up. He then removed 
to and practiced in New York until the fall of 1797. In 1762 he mar- 
ried Sarah, daughter of Samuel Brown, of Colchester, Conn. She died 
in Albany in 1768, without issue. 

John (3) and Jane (5), children of John and Mary Young, died in 
childhood. 

Mary (6) married Samuel King, and had Mary, who married Doc- 
tor Strong; Thomas, who married Cornelia Tracy; John, who married 
Kliza Godfrey; Samuel, who married Nancy Montagnie ; Anna, who 
married Nicholas King; Sarah, who married Isaac Mills; Mary, who 
married David Godfrey; and Rhoda, who married Elijah Tucker. 

Barbara (7) married Matthew Neely, son of Robert Xeely (who 
married Isabella, sister to Adam Graham), of Montgomery. She died 
soon after the birth of her only child, Barbara Amelia (born Dec. 19, 
1775), who married Thomas Hertell.* 

Isaac (4) married Esther Wolcott in the state of Rhode Island. She 
died after having a son, William, and three daughters, one of whom, 
Sarah, married Cornelius Tiebout, an eminent copper engraver of Phila- 
delphia. Isaac married, second, Susanna Ross, of Fayette county. 
Pa., by whom he had seven children : Robert, Nancy, Isaac, EfTy, Nelly, 
Joseph and Jane, who all removed to Kentucky except Isaac, who re- 
mained in partnership with his half-brother, William, at or near Union- 
town, Pa. Isaac, their father, visited New York in the summer of 
1795, where he died of yellow fever and was buried in Potter's Field. 

The history of the family, if not of special mention in local records, 
is eminently so in that of one of its sons. Dr. Thomas Young, the com- 
patriot of Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Dr. Warren, of New Eng- 
land, in resisting the efforts of the British ministry to tax the colonies. 



♦Christian Hertell was the principal factor in the firm of Christian Hertell and 
company, of the New Windsor Glass Works, in 1752 Thomas Hertell was Mem- 
ber of the Assembly from New York from 1833 to 1840. 



1 2 6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



MC CLAUGHRY. 



The McClaughry family, of Little Britain, were of the company of 
immigrants with Charles Clinton in 1729, and at one time among the 
most numerous and influential in that district. The name has now, 
liowever, entirely disappeared there, and descendants can only be im- 
perfectly traced in lateral connections. In his journal of the voyage of 
the colony which accompanied him, Clinton writes : "Matthew Mc- 
Claughry, his wife and two of his family, went on shore at Glenarm, 
May 24th, and quit their voyage." Inferentially a portion of his family 
remained on board. Subsequently Clinton records in his list of deaths at 
sea the names of Margaret MoClaughry, Joseph McClaughry, and Mat- 
thew McClaughry, who were probably children of Mary McClaughry 
and grandchildren of Matthew. Be this as it may, Mary McClaughry, 
widow, and her children, accompanied Clinton to Little Britain and 
made purchase from Andrew Johnston and John Parker, Aug. 2, I730> 
of one hundred and twenty acres of the Johnston patent, on which she 
located with her family, of whom Patrick McClaughry appears on the 
militia roll in 1738, as the first male representative of the line in local 
records. Later Colonel James McClaughry was a well-known resident 
of the district. Jane McClaughry married James McCobb, of Mont- 
gomery in 1758, and Sarah McClaughry married Alexander Trimble, 
of Montgomery in 1754; but the exact relation which they held to each 
other and to the widowed Mary can not be definitely stated. She was 
probably the daughter of the widow, Mary, whose husband would, from 
the same standpoint, seem to have been William. There is a tradition 
that Colonel James was the son of a brother to the husband of widow 
McClaugtiry, and that his father and mother died on the voyage, or 
soon after ; but of this there is no record. The family can only be 
treated in the relation of branches from Matthew, of Ireland, who "quit 
their voyage." 

"Patrick McClaughry," writes Joseph Burnet, Esq., "married Mary, 
daughter of Jdhn Reid, and sister of the wife of Robert Burnet, He 
settled on the Johnston patent, near the Little Britain church, on the 
farm lately owned by Colonel James Denuiston, his grandson. He 
owned the land the Little Britain church stands on, and deeded the same 
to the congregation in 1765. 

He had three or four daughters and two sons. One daugliter, Mary, 
married Col. Geo. Denniston (1762), who lived on and owned his father- 
in-law's place after the death of the latter. Another daughter, Eliza- 
beth, married John Finley (1766), who settled on Hume's patent, on 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i 27 

-the road leading from Little Britain to the Coldenham church. Her 
•grand-children, Samuel and James B. Finley, now own and occupy the 
place. Catherine (Katy), another daug-hter, had quite a romantic 
history. At the time the continental army was encamped near the 
square, she was coming into womanhood, sprightly and good-look- 
ing. She attended the balls and other social gatherings of the army 
officers, and among the number that she became acquainted with was 
Captain Stephen Potter, of one of the Connecticut regiments, who fell 
desperately in love with her and they were married. After the army 
disbanded, the captain, if he did not desert his colors, did his young 
bride, and left her on her father's hands. She had one child by this 
marriage, a girl named Mary (Polly). Herself and daughter lived 
together in Montgomery, and, after Capt. Potter's death, she applied 
for and received a widow's pension. She died near Bloomingburgh, 
in 1840, over 80 years of age. Patrick McClaughry had another 

daughter, I believe. She married George Nicholson, of Montgomery, 
and, after his death, a Mr. Smith, of Bloomingburgh. Of his sons, 
John married a widow Budd. He lived on part of his father's farm 
for some years, but ultimately sold out and went to the west, where 
he died.* His second son, James, died unmarried at the residence of 
his sister, Mrs. Finley." Patrick McClaughry was a carpenter, and 
one of the first, if not the first, of that trade in his neighborhood. The 
old Little Britain church was erected by him. He became one of the 
first elders of the church, and served in that capacity with honor. He 
was the oldest son of Mary McClaughry. 

James McClaughry, known as Colonel McClaughry, was born in 
Ireland in 1723, died at Little Britain, August 18, 1790. He married, 
first, (June 2.2, 1749), Catherine, daughter of Col. Charles Clinton. 
She died in Little Britain in 1762, without issue, and he married, sec- 
ond (1763), Agnes, daughter of John Humphrey, who also died with- 
out issue, April 11, 1808, in her 65th year. His fami was a part of 
the Low patent and adjoined the farm of Charles Clinton on the south. 
He was a man of considerable activity and prominence in the neigh- 
borhood. 

Under the law of August 22d, 1775, organizing the militia of the 
Revolution, James McClaughry was commissioned lieutenant-colonel of 
the second Ulster regiment, under command of his brother-in-law, 



*John was an ensign in James Stewart's company in DuBoise's X. Y. regi- 
ment; commissioned Nov. 21, 1776; taken prisoner at Fort Montgomery, Oct. 6, 
1777; promoted lieutenant July i, i/iSo. He probably retired from the army be- 
fore the revolution closed, as his name does not appear in the list of haJf-pay of- 
■ficers for life. 



J 28 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Colonel James Clinton. The transfer of the latter to the command of 
the third New York regiment in the expedition against Canada, and 
subsequently to other positions in the Continental service, left the power 
of command of the regiment to him, and it was under him that the 
regiment took part in the defence of Fort Clinton, where he was wound- 
ed and taken prisoner. In reference to at least a portion of his ser- 
vice on that occasion, Gov. Clinton wrote in his report of the action: 
"I immediately sent lieutenant Jackson with a small party to discover 
the movements of the enemy; but they had not moved more than two 
miles on the Haverstraw road, when they were attacked by a part of 
the enemy, who had formed an ambuscade at a place called Doodletown. 
They immediately retreated, after returning the fire. As soon as the 
firing was heard, I detached Lieutenant-Colonel Bruyn with fifty con- 
tinental troops, and as many militia under Lieutenant-Colonel Mc- 
Claughry, to sustain Lieutenant Jackson, the garrison being at that time 
so weak that we could not afford them greater aid on that road. The 
detachment under Colonel Bruyn and McClaughry were soon engaged, 
but, being too weak to withstand the enemy's great force, retreated to 
Fort Qinton, disputing the ground, inch by inch. Their gallant op- 
position, and the roughness of the ground, checked the progress of the 
enemy for sometime." The manner in which McClaughry was taken 
prisoner in the action is related by Dr. Young, in his "Recollections," 
written in 1807: "When the nenemy rushed into the redoubts, Col. Mc- 
Claughry and a Mr. James Humphreys, the lock of whose gun had 
been shot off. turned back to back and defended themselves desperately. 
They were assailed on all sides and would undoubtedly have been killed, 
but a British member of Parliament, who witnessed this spirit and 
bravery, exclaimed that it would be a pity to kill such brave men. They 
then rushed on and seized them." During his captivity Colonel Mc- 
Claughry was confined in a hospital in New York, where he was joined 
by his wife, Agnes, who made that provision for his comfort which his 
captors denied. Most of the prisoners were soon exchanged or pa- 
rolled ; but McQaughry saw and suffered quite sufficiently to deepen and 
broaden his hatred for the English. In his last will he manumitted 
all his negro servants, except two females, who were retained for his 
wife, and in addition to manumission gave them oxen, farming imple- 
ments, etc., and from £180 to £200 each.* 

*Two of his male slaves bore the names of Thomas McClaughry and William 
McClaughry. They located themselves in the town of Wallkill, as did also Lou- 
don, one of their companions. Mr. Eager, in his "Orange County," says they set- 
tled at a place called Honey Pot but this is denied on equally good authority. The 
name is still met in several colored families in this district, who are ranked as 
the "better class — generally thrifty and well-to-do." 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i 29 



Jane McClaughry, probably daughter of widow Mary McClaughry, 
married James McCobb, of Montgomery, in 1758. She has descend- 
ants through her daughter, Mary (Polly), who married George, son of 
Alexander Trimble and his wife Sarah McClaughry; and through her 
second husband, Col. John Nicholson^ by whom she had one son, who 
became the heir to the Nicholson farm at Neelytown. 

Sarah McClaughry, born April 7, 1735 ; married Alexander Trim- 
ble, April II, 1754; died June 10, 1773. Their children: i. Isabel, 
born Jan. 15, 1753, married Peter Hill; 2, John, born July 25, 1757; 
3. George, born Feb. 5, 1760, married Mary McClaughry; 4, William, 
born April 12, 1763; 5, Jane, born Nov. 25, 1765, died April 25, 1797, 
married Rev. Andrew King, of Goodwill church, Montgomery, by whom 
she had several children, two of whom arrived at maturity, viz : James 
and Andrew. The former became a lawyer and settled in Albany, 
where he died June 20, 1841, aged 53 years, the latter was a physician 
and married first, Eliza, daughter of Hamilton Morrison and his wife, 
Lydia Beemer, of the Town of Montgomery ; they had two children, 
Ruth S., who died at Ocean Grove, N. J., unmarried, eighty-three year5 
of age, and William L., who resided in New York and married Catha- 
rine Moffatt — they had two children, Imogene M. and Angela. Dr. 
King's second wife was Eliza Hornbeck, daughter of Dr. H. W. Horn- 
beck, of Scotchtown, by whom he had three children, Henry PL, Gil- 
bert and Mary E. — all of whom married, had children, and resided in 
New York. Late in life he removed to Nashville, Tenn, where he died ; 
6, Alexander, born July 17, 1767; 7, Elizabeth, born May i. 1770, mar- 
ried Samuel Hunter; 8, Sarah, born April 7, 1773, married Rev. David 
Comfort. 

Elizabeth McClaughry has the following record on monument in 
Goodwill cemetery: "In memory of Elizabeth, daughter of William and 
Mary McClaughry, who departed this life May 31st, 181 8, aged 79 
years." She was probably the daughter of the widow, Mary, whose 
husband would, from the same standpoint, seem to have been William. 

SAMUEL SLY. 

One of the most substantial of the early settlers of New Windsor 
was Samuel Sly, who purchased, loth of June, 1757, from William 
Young and Elizabeth, his wife, a portion of the Hume patent. In the 
deed he is described as a resident of the precinct of the Highlands, 
which, the reader is aware, included the present town of New Windsor, 
and it is altogether probable that he lived in the Little Britain neighbor- 



I ^o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



hood for some time prior to the purchase. His wife was Letitia, daugh- 
ter of WilHam Hamilton, one of the CHnton company of immigrants. 
The farm which he purchased is still, or was recently, in possession of 
his descendants. His wife, Letitia, died Sept. i6, 1776, in her 56th 
year and he died Sept. 4, 1786, in his 76th year. Their children were: 
I, Samuel; 2, John; 3, WilHam; 4, Elizabeth; 5, Mary; 6, Catharine. 
The three daughters married three brothers of the surname of Cross. 
Samuel Sly was one of the committee of safety of the town of New 
Windsor in 1775. 

1. Samuel, married Margaret McMichael, of a Little Britain family 
in 1738. Their children were: i, George; 2, Mary (married James 
Strachan) ; 3, Letitia (married Robert Cunningham); 4, Nancy; 5, 
Lilly. He was in service in Malcom's regiment in the war of the Revo- 
lution. 

2. John, married Margaret Simpson, and lived and died on a por- 
tion of the original homestead bequeathed to him by his father. Their 
children were: i, Letitia (Mrs. Robert Carlisle); 2, Catharine (Mrs, 
John Milliken) ; 3, Janet; 4, John; 5, Hamilton; 6, Robert; 7, William. 
Robert (6) was a member of the legislature in 1836 and again in 1841. 
John (4) was in military service in the war of 1812. William E. Sly, 
a grandson, was in the Civil War. 

3. William was in service in Livingston's regiment in the War of 
the Revolution. He occupied that portion of the homestead bequeathed 
to him by his father, and it is still held by his descendants.* He was 
born February 14, 1760; died November 17, 1834. He married Ann 
Gouldsberry Barber, daughter of Arthur Barber. She was born Decem- 
ber 23d, 1758; died August nth, 1825. Their children were: i. Charles 
Hamilton; 2. Arthur Barber; 3. Maria Gouldsberry. 

1. Charles Hamilton, born May 14, 1792; died August 7, 1875, "'" 
his 84th year. Married, first, Susan Haines, daughter of Samuel Haines, 
of Montgomery, by whom he had one daughter, Susan H., married 
Franklin Mulliner. His second wife (Oct. 4, 1825) was Sarah John- 
ston, sister of the Rev. John Johnston of Newburgh.** Their children, 
aside from two sons who died young, were: Jane Ann and Catharine 
Johnston (Mrs. Charles Woodruff). 

2. Arthur Barber married Catharine Johnston, sister of Rev. John 



*See Recollections by Hon. Edward MacGrau. 

♦*Rev. John Johnston was the son of John Johnston and Jane Moncriff, his 
wife, who emigrated from Ireland, in 1774, and settled in the present town of 
Crawford, Orange County. He was for forty-seven years pastor of the First 
Presbyterian Church, of Newburgh, where he died, Aug. 23d, 1855. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i 3 i 

Johnston. One daug-hter, Sarah Elizabeth, survived them. He died 
September 3d, 1841. 

3. Maria Gouldsberry married Joseph Dill. Their children were : 
I. William S. ; 2. Henry; 3. David; 4. Ann Eliza; 5. Maria. 

Charles Hamilton Sly was a second lieutenant under Capt Alexander 
C. Burnet in the War of 181 2, and a captain in the 14th regiment, 34th 
brigade of the militia in 1823, afterwards ranking as major. For fifty- 
one years he was one of the trustees of Goodwill Church, although never 
a professor of religion. 

JOHN WI'XLING. 

John Welling came from Long Island ])rior to the Revolution. He 
married IMary, daughter of Peter IMullindcr, by whom he had eight 
children — Peter, William, John, Frederick, Isabella, Anna, Sarah and 
Mary. Isabella married Alexander Pieattie ; Mary married Matthew 
DuBois. Jr.; Anna died young; Sarah married Isaac DuBois.* Hir> 
farm, or part of it. is now owned by his grandsons, Peter and George 
Welling. It was orignally purchased from the patentees by John Young. 

FALLS FAMILY. 

Alexander Falls, the progenitor of the Falls family of New Windsor, 
was a native of Ireland, from where he emigrated, it is said, with th:? 
Clinton company in 1729. However this may be. his name appears on 
the military roll of Capt. Ellison's New Windsor company in 1738. 
about which time he is said to have settled on the Hume patent. Hi.~ 
fami was afterwards owned by John Findley and his heirs. He died 
in 1755. He had children: i. Alexander, Jr.; 2, Samuel; 3, Edward; 4, 
George; 5. Elizabeth, who married Buchan.an ; 6. Mary. 

*Isaac. David, James and Matthew Dubois, were the sons of Matthew Dubois 
who was of the fourth generation of the first Louis Dubois, one of the Huguenot 
settlers of New Paltz. .Matthew, Jr., was engaged in commercial business in the 
village of New Windsor; was a petitioner for a ferry franchise there m 1762 and 
during the Revolution was an assistant commissary. He lived neighbor to Robert 
Burnet, in Little Britain, but subsequently removed to Newburgh, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of tobacco and where he died in 1799, in his 75th year. (Hist, of 
of Newburgh) His wife. Mary Welling, died Sept. 21, 1799. His daughter, Mary 
W., in 1829. Ann M., died Sept. 17, 1828; and his son, David ^L, died in 1855 aged 
77 years. David and James (brothers of Matthew, Jr.,) were engaged in the war the 
of Revolution, the former as lieutenant in Col. James Clinton's regiment in the ex- 
pedition against Canada in 1775, from which^he returned with impaired healih and 
died soon after, and the latter under Gen'l McDougal in the battle of Monmouth. 
JEager' sOraJtge Co.) 



I ^2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

I. Alexander, Jr., married Easther , He died about Oc- 
tober, 1773, without children — at least none are named in his will on file 
in Albany, dated July 27, 1773 — probated October 16, 1773. 

2. Samuel, married ]\Iary Denton. They had Elizabeth, Alexander 
and Samuel. He was wounded and taken prisoner in service in the militia 
at Fort Montgomery, October 6, 1777, as was also a brother whose name 
has not been ascertained. He died of wounds while in prison in the 
old Sugar House, New York, January 30, 1778. He was a member of 
Col. James McCaughrey's regiment. 

3. Edward, born 1745, died January 21, 1776, from injuries acci- 
dentally received in his saw mill. (See Eager's Orange Co., correcting 
the name "Alex." to "Edward"). He was the 2d Lieutenant in Col. 
McClaughrey's New Windsor regiment, commissioned in 1775. He 
married Catharine, daughter of Alexander Denniston ( i ) . They had sons 
Alexander and George, and daughters Esther and Frances, as named 
in his will, January 16, 1776, of whom i. Alexander was a merchant ia 
Newburgh, and the father, (by his first wife), of William H., George, 
Edward, Hiram and Alexander Falls, all of whom were engaged in 
mercantile pursuits in Newburgh. William H. was a member of the 
firm of Reeve & Falls ; subsequently removed to New York, where he 
was for many years president of the Tradesmans Bank. George and 
Edward died unmarried. Hiram married Deborah, daughter of Capt. 
Charles Birdsall. He served as an apprentice to his uncle, Hiram Wood, 
as a wagonmaker ; was subsequently in the crockery trade, and, a few 
years prior to his death, was associated with Charles Johnston in the 
forwarding business. He left no children. Alexander married Sarah, 
daughter of John Leyard. After conducting mercantile business in 
Newburgh, he removed to Columbia, S. C, where he died without issue. 
William H. left two sons and two daughters. Alexander, his father, 
was thrice married. His third wife, Fanny Belknap, died at Philadel- 
phia, Pa., December ist, 1877, aged 92 years and 6 months. She wa^' 
buried at Goodwill Church in Montgomery. As appears by his will 
Edward Falls, his grandfather, was an "innholder" at the time of his 
death in the house now known as the "Headquarters of General George 
Clinton," after the fall of the forts in the Highlands, October, 1777. 
His widow married Samuel Wood and continued the inn, which became 
known as the "Wood's House." Later the house became the home of 
Samuel Brewster Moores, a descendant of Deacon Samuel Brewster of 
New Windsor. 

4. George, married (1760) Rachel, youngest daughter of Peter 
Mulliner, an early settler on the Hume or Hermitage patent. They 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i ->'> 

lived on the Square, on a farm lately owned by Samuel Moore. He 
died sometime about 1770, leaving, it is said, two children, William and 
Isabella, of whom William only is mentioned in the will of his brother 
Alexander, Jr. His widow. Rachel jMulliner, married James Denniston, 
October, 1773. His son William, married Elsie Davis, by whom he had 
five children: i. George; 2. Rachel, married James Roberts; 3. Isabella, 
married David Scott and had descendant in Little Britain ; 4. Jane, mar- 
ried Obadiah Beatty ; 5. James, removed to the South when a young 
man, and died there. 

5. Elizabeth, married Robert Buchanan and had Alexander, James. 
Arthur, George, Jane, Isabella and Elizabeth, as named in the will of 
her brother, Alexander Falls, Jr. 

6. Mary, married Hiram Wood. 

The facts stated are from a memorandum of the late Wm. E. Warren 
of Newburgh, brother-in-law of Hiram Falls, and from wills of Alex- 
ander, Jr. and Edward Falls on file at Albany. 

THE CLINTON FAMILY. 

The Clintons, of New Windsor, occupy so conspicuous a position in 
the annals of the State of New York, and in standard historical and 
biographical literature, that an extended notice, in a work of the charac- 
ter of this volume, would be superogatory. Nevertheless it is due to a 
town whose history is so intimately associated with that of the family 
that more than a passing reference should be made to them. 

It will be generally understood that two branches of the Clintons 
are represented in the history of the state, and that their relationship 
was very remote. The first was that of the colonial governor, George 
Clinton, the youngest son of Francis, sixth Earl of Lincoln, who was 
governor of the province from 1743 to 1753, when he returned to Eng- 
land. He was the father of Sir Henry Clinton, who was in command 
of the English army in America during a part of the Revolutioa The 
second and more honored branch of the family in this country, were the 
descendants of William Clinton, grandson of Henry Clinton 2d, Earl of 
Lincoln, an adherent to the fortunes of royalty in the civil wars of Eng- 
land, and an officer in the army of Charles I. On the fall of the King 
whose cause he had espoused and whom he had served with marked de- 
votion,* he fled to the continent to escape the fury of Cromwell's army, 

*His coat of arms and its motto, "Loyatilte n' a Itontc," illustrates his devotion 
and his position. His bearings are thus described: Argont-six crosses crosslet 
fitchee, sa. three, three, two, one ; on a chief az. two mullets or pierced gules, 
Crest — out of a ducal coronet gu. a plume of five ostrich feathers ar. banded with 



134 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



and remained for several years in France and Spain. On his return he 
settled in Scotland, where he married a lady of the family of Kennedy. 
He was soon compelled to seek personal safety in Ireland, where he 
died leaving an orphan son, James, then about two years of age, and 
a daughter, Margaret.* On attaining his majority, James visited Eng- 
land for the purpose of recovering the estates of his father but, being 
barred by the limitation of an act of Parliament, returned to Ireland, af- 
ter marrying Elizabeth Smith, daughter of a captain Wm. Smith of Crom- 
well's army. He afterwards became an officer in the English army, and 
was granted, for his military services, a valuable estate in the county 
of Longford. He died January 14. 1717, and his wife December 5, 1728, 
leaving a son, Charles and two daughters, Christian and Mary. Charles 
married Elizabeth Denniston, and soon after united with the "dis- 
senters" and opposed the ruling party in Ireland. It will be remem- 
bered that after the Irish Revolution, in 1689, and the accession of the 
house of Hanover, Ireland was treated as a conquered province. Clin- 
ton with others of his faith fell under the law of religious and political 
proscription, and led him to the detennination to remove to America. 
Having leased his estate for ninety-nine years to Lord Granard, and 
succeeded in enlisting a company of his friends and neighbors to ac- 
company him, * he sailed from Dublin on the 20th day of May, 1729, with 
the intention of debarking at Philadelphia. It soon became apparent 
that a fortunate selection had not been made in the ship, the "George 
and Anne," or her commander. The vessel was slow and the voyage 
exceedingly long and tedious, to which was added the breaking out of a 
fatal type of measles and a failure in the supply of provisions. Some 
ninety persons, heads of families and children, fell victims to the disease 
and the absence of proper food, the track of the ship was marked with 
bodies of the dead. Under the circumstances the passengers were 
anxious to reach land at any point favorable for debarkation, and the 
captain was induced for a consideration to change his course with that 
object in view. On the 4th of October, after a voyage of five months, 



a line laid chevronways, az. Supporters— two greyhounds ar. each collared and 
lined gu. ^otto—"Loyaulte n' a lionte/'. Charles Clinton brought this coat of 
arms with him to New Windsor, and it is retained my the family the present day, 
changing the motto, however, to the more appropriate: "Patria cara, carior liber- 
tas." 

*By a receipt preserved among his papers it appears that the charter party was 
composed of ninety-four persons, heads of famiHes with children and servants. 
The names of most of these heads of families will be found in Clinton's journal 
Appendix. 

**See Biographical Sketch by Joseph Young in Appendix. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



135 



land was hailed with joy and in a few hours thereafter the survivors of 
the company were on shore at Cape Cod on the coast of Massachusetts. 
The season was then so far advanced that httle could be done and i 
considerable portion, if not all, of the company remained at Cape CoJ. 
until the Spring of 1730, when they removed to New York and from 
thence to Ulster County, and located on and in the vicinity of the An- 
drew Johnston patent,* in the district known as Little Britain.** 

Clinton was an acknowledged leader among his neighbors in the 
wilderness, as he had been in the community from which he had emi- 
grated. He was a good mathematical scholar and surveyor and quali- 
fied for any duty which might be required at his hands. He soon be- 
came an agent for the sale of patented lands in his vicinity, to which 
no doubt was due the subsequent settlement in the district of so large a 
number of immigrants from his old neighborhood. He was appointed 
Justice of the Peace soon after his arrival and in 1769, a Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of Ulster County. In 1756 he was commis- 
sioned Lieutenant-Colonel of the Second Regiment of Militia of Ulster 
County, and in 1758, by Governor Sir Charles Hardy, Lieutenant-Col- 
onel of the battallion under the command of Colonel Piradstreet, in 
which capacity he took part in the French and Indian war. He wa** 
stationed at Fort Herkimer, in the valley of the Mohawk, in 1758, and 
in the Summer of that year was in the capture of Fort Frontenac.***At 
the close of the war he returned to Little Britain where he spent the re- 
mainder of his days in the cultivation of literature and the management 
of his estate. Dr. Joseph Young writes of him at this period: "Col. 
Charles Clinton possessed an accute genius, a penetrating solid judg- 
ment, an extensive fund of useful as well as ornamental knowledge, with 
the aflfability and polished manners of a polite gentleman. He was a 
tall, straight, graceful person, of a majestic appearance." In his private 
and in his public relations he sustained a pure and elevated character, 
and exerted a great influence in the district in which he lived. He was 
also active in the cause of religion and good morals. Bringing with him 

*The purchase of farms was made in the autumn of 1730, sometime having 
been spent in prospecting. 

**Clinton has had the credit of naming the settlement, but it is now asserted 
that that honor belongs to Peter MuUinder, a prior immigrant. The question ha» 
been referred to in Chapter IV. 

***The New York troops, under Col. Bradstreet, consisted of two detachments, 
one commanded by lieutenant-colonel Clinton, consisting of 440 men, under Cap- 
tains Ogden of Westchester, DuBois of Ulster, Bladgley of Duchess, and Wright 
of Queens. The second was commander by lieutenant-colonel Isaac Corse of 
Queens, and consisted of 668 men. 



1^5 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

from Ireland a certificate of his church connection, **he united with th^ 
Bethlehem church, of which he was made an elder and held that relation 
until his death. He was born on his father's estate in county Longford, 
Ireland, in 1690, and died at his residence in Little Britain, November 
JI9, 1773, in his eighty-third year, in full view of the approach of the 
Revolution. "He expired," writes Dr. Hosack, "breathing an ardent 
spirit of patriotism, and in his last moments conjured his sons to stand 
by the liberties of America." His wife, Elizabeth Denniston, was the 
daughter of Alexander Denniston, an officer under St. Rutte in 169 1. 
She was well acquainted with the military operations of the times, and 
shared largely in the patriotic ardor of her husband and sons. Her let- 
ters to her husband, during the periods of his official absence, place? 
her in an interesting and commanding light. She was born in 1704, and 
died at the residence of her son James (the old homestead of her hus- 
band) on the 25th December, 1779, in her seventy-fifty year.* 
Charles Clinton and Elizabeth Denniston had seven children : 

1. Catharine, born in Ireland August 11, 1723; married James Mc- 
Claughry June 22, 1749; died without issue November 28, 1762, in her 
fortieth year. 

2. James, born in Ireland March 31, 1726; died at sea August 28. 
1729. 

3. Mary, born in Ireland July 11, 1728; died at sea August 2, 1729. 

4. Alexander, born In Little Britain April 28, 1732 ; married Mary 
Kane, Novem'ber, 1757; died March 11, 1758, without issue, aged 26. 

Alexander Clinton was a graduate of Princeton college in 1750. He 
studied medicine in New York with Dr. Middleton ; located at Shawan • 
gunk, and "practiced with great success and reputation. He excelled 
in everything to which he turned his attention ; he was a good classic 



**This certificate reads : "Whereas the bearer, Mr. Charles Clinton, and his 
wife, Elizabeth, lived within the bounds of this Protestant dissenting congregation 
from their infancy, and now design for America ; this is to certify, that all along 
they have behaved themselves soberly and inoffensively, and are fit to be received 
into any Christian congregation that Providence may cast their lot. Also, that 
said Charles Clint:on was a member of our Session, and discharged the office of 
ruling elder very acceptably, this, with advice of Session, given at Corbay, in the 
county of Longford, Ireland. 

JOSEPH BOND, Minister. 

*Charles Clinton and his wife, Elizabeth, his daughter, Catharine (Mrs. Mc- 
Claughry), his sons, Charles and Gen. James, with the wives and children of the 
latter, were buried in the family burial ground at Little Britain. The plot was 
enclosed with a substantial wall and monuments erected ; but the removal of th* 
relatives from the vicinity left the place to the care of strangers. The wall and 
gate becoming broken, and rank weeds and bushes springing up, induced John A. 
C. Gray, grandson of Mrs. Mary Gray Clinton, to remove the remains and monu- 
ments to Woodlawn Cemetery in 1875. They now occupy a fine plot, with a sub- 




f 



History of The Town of New Windsor, 1-77 

scholar, a great physician, a considerable poet, an excellent musician 
and understood the use of the broadsword in a superior degree. He 
was as estimable in character as in acquirements and was beloved and re- 
spected by all who knew him. He died of confluent smallpox and was 
buried in the cemetery at Bruynswick (Shawangunk). 

5. Charles, born in Little Britain July 20, 1734; died at his rcidence 
in Montgomery, April 3, 1791, in his fifty-seventh year, without issue. 

Charles Clinton also studied medicine under Doctor INIiddleton. and, 
was much esteemed for his skill in surgery by the celebrated Dr. Houck. 
He was a surgeon in the British army at the capture of Havana. He 
ultimately settled in the precinct of Hanover (Montgomery) where he 
practiced with success. He died of consumption, unmarried. 

6. James, born at Little Britain, August 9. 1736; died December 22. 
1812, in his seventy-seventh year. 

James Clinton received an excellent education, and acquired much 
proficiency in the exact sciences, but his ruling inclination was for mili- 
tary life. He was appointed a lieutenant in the second regiment of mil- 
itia of Ulster County in 1756, and was subsequently captain of a com- 
pany in the battalion of which his father was lieutenant-colonel, and par 
ticularly distinguished himself in the war between the English and th'* 
French, at the capture of Fort Frontenac, by taking a sloop of war on 
Lake Ontario, which had obstructed the advance of the English force:. 
In the militia regiment, of which he was lieutenant, he rose to the rank of 
lieutenant-colonel in 1772, but in the interim was appointed captain-com- 
mandant of four regiments levied for the protection of the western 
frontiers of Orange and Ulster, a post of great responsibility and danger, 
as it devolved upon him the protection of a line of settlements of at 
least fifty miles in extent, which were continually threatened by the In- 
dians. At the outbreak of the revolution he was appointed by the Pro- 
vincial Convention of New York (1775) colonel of the militia of south- 

stantial granite monument around wliicli the old monuments arc suitably grouped. 
As a question may at some time arise las to the title of the Little Britain plot, the 
following extract from Charles Clinton's will is here quoted: '"It is my will that 
I be buried in the graveyard on my own farm, beside my daughter. Catharine; and 
it is my will the said graveyard be made four rods square, and an open road 
to it at all times, when it shall be necessary ; and I nominate and appoint my said 
three sons, Charles, James and George, to see the same executed accordingly ; and 
I order that my said Executors procure a suitable stone to lay over my grave, 
•whereon I would have the time of my death, my age and coat of arms cut. I 
hope they will indulge me in this last piece of vanity."' The remains of some of 
his neighbors were also buried in the plot, among others, Mrs. Jane Armstrong, 
daughter of his aunt Margaret. Her remains were not removed, and strange to 
say, the remains of Mary DeWitt, the first wife of General James Clinton, and 
mother of DeWitt Clinton, were left in the old burial ground. 



1^8 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



ern Ulster, embracing part of the regiment theretofore commanded by 
Colonel Thomas Ellison, and in the same year was appointed colonel of 
the third continental regiment of New York, marched with Montgomery 
to Quebec and took part in the heroic campaign in Canada. August 9th. 
1776, he was promoted brigadier-general, and was placed in command 
of the construction of the forts in the Highlands. In October. 1777, he 
commanded under his brother. Governor Clinton, at forts Clinton and 
Montgomery, in the defense against Sir Henry Clinton, who with three 
thousand men carried the forts by storm, they being defended by only 
about five hundred men. Himself and his brother narrowly escaped 
capture, the latter by springing into a boat and rowing away in the dark- 
ness, and the former by sliding down the steep bank of Poplopen's Kill 
and passing up the bed of that stream. Although wounded he made 
his way to his home in Little Britain and commenced the reorganization 
of the militia for the defense of Kington. In 1779, with sixteen hun- 
dred men, he joined General Sullivan in the expedition against the Six 
Nations. Proceeding up the Mohawk in bateaux, about fifty miles 
above Schenectady, he conveyed his boats by land to the head of Otsego 
Lake, one of the sources of the Susquehanna, down which stream he was 
to proceed. As the water in the outlet was too low to float boats, he 
constructed a dam across it and thus accumulated water in the lake. By 
letting out this water and suddenly flushing the stream, his boats and 
troops were rapidly conveyed to Tioga, where he joined SulliVan, who 
had ascended the Susquehanna. After one engagement the Indians fled 
— were pursued and fifty-four of their towns burned. In 1780 he was 
placed in command of the northern department, with his headquarters 
at Albany, and was next in the field at Yorktown. In 1782, some pro- 
motions were made in which junior officers were given the precedence, 
and he solicited and obtained leave to withdraw from active duty until 
such time as there should be pressing need of his services.* He made- 
his last appearance in arms on the evacuation of the city of New York 
by the British, when he bade farewell to Washington, whose respect he 
enjoyed. He subsequently discharged several civic trusts ; was one of 
the commissioners to adjust the boundary line between Pennsylvania and 
New York; a member of the legislature and of the convention which 



*His letter of application bears date April 10, 1782, and is characteristic of the 
man. "At an early period of the war," he writes, "I entered the service of my 
country, and I have continued in it during all the vicissitudesof fortune, and am 
conscious that I have exerted my best endeavor to serve it with fidelity. I have 
never sought emolument, or promotion, and as the different commands I have held 
were unsolicited, I might have reasonably expected, if my services were no longer 
wanted, to have been indulged at least with a decent dismission." 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i -^q 

adopted the constitution of the United States, and a State Senator. All 
these offices he filled with credit to himself and usefulness to his country. 
In private life he was mild and aflfectionate, although reserved, in manner 
— a trait peculiar to his father and also to his son, DeWitt ; in battle he 
was calm and collected but full of energy and activity. He was an abL^ 
soldier, an incorruptible patriot and a true hearted man. 

By his wife, Mary DeWitt,* "a young lady of extraordinary merit," 
he had: i. Alexander; 2. Charles; 3. DeWitt; 4. George; 5. Mary; 6. 
Elizabeth; 7. Catharine. May i, 1797, in New York city, he married, 
second, Mrs. Mary Gray,** by whom he had: 8. James, died young; 9. 
Caroline H. ; 10. Emma L. ; 11. James G. ; 12. Letitia ; 13. Anna. 

Alexander (i), born at Deerpark in 1765, was drowned while sailing 
from New York to Bull's Ferry, in a "ferry periagua." March 15, 17S7. 
in his twenty-second year. He was appointed a lieutenant in Colonel 
Lamb's regiment of artillery, in the War of the Revolution, when but 
fourteen years of age, and became a member of the Society of Cincin- 
nati. After the war he was private secretary to his uncle. Governor 
George Clinton. He died unmarried. 

Charles (2), born at New Windsor, February 18. 1767, was a lawyer 
in Newburgh ; he was also an excellent surveyor, and more of his time 
was spnet in that profession, (which he preferred), than in the law. He 
was employed in various positions of trust in the village and town of 
Newburgh — was one of the trustees of the Newburgh Academy and ."• 
director of the Newburgh and Cochecton turnpike, one of the most im- 
portant local undertakings, and served as a member of the legislature i'l 
1802. He died in New York, April 26, 1829, aged 62 years. He mar- 
ried Elizabeth, only daughter of William Mulliner, of Little Britain, in 
T790. Her mother was Mary, daughter of Alexander Denniston. whose 
sister married the first Charles Clinton. She was born in Little Britain 

*Daughter of Egbert and Mary DeWitt, of Deerpark. born Sept: 5. 1737, died 
Dec. 12, 1795. The marriage was by Rev. John Gottcliius. of Shawangunk. Feb. 
I9> 1765. Their first child. Alexander, was baptized in bhawangunk church. 

**Mrs. Gray was the daughter of Graham Little, of the town and county of 
Longford, Ireland, where she was horn, .Aug. 22. 1768, and died at Newburgh, N. 
Y., June 23, 1835. She was married on May 19, 1788, to Alexander Gray, and ia 
1795 came with him to America. They landed at New Castle, July 22d, and pro- 
ceeded thence to Philadelphia, where Mr. Gray took ill and died. A few days 
after Mrs. Gray, with her four children, left for New York, the place of their 
original destination. Having letters in her possession to General Clinton, she 
came to Little Britain, where she was kindly received. In a short time she re- 
turned to New York, and with a view to support herself and children opened a 
ladles' cap store. After her marriage to him, General Clinton adopted her child- 
ren and divided his property equally between them and his own ch-ldren- After 
the General's death, she removed to Newburgh. where she maintained the repu- 
tation of a verv excellent woman. 



140 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



April 2^, 1770, died in New York, August 15, 1865, in her ninety-sixth 
year. They had three children: i. Maria DeWitt, born in Little Brit- 
ain, March 26, 1791 ; married May i, 1816, Robert Gourlay captain in U, 
S. army in 1812. 2. Alexander, born in Little Britain, i\pril 7, 1793; 
died in New York, February 18, 1878, in his eighty-fifth year; married 
September 22, 1821, Adeline Arden Hamilton, fourth daughter of cap- 
tain Alexander James Hamilton, of the British army — a Scotch gentle- 
man of the family of lanerwick — and Mary Deane, youngest daughter 
of Richard Deane, an Irish gentleman of good birth and standing. Mrs. 
Clinton was born in Brooklyn Heights, September 5, 1795; died in New 
York, July 15, 1873. They had seven children: i, Mary Elizabeth, who 
married John Rhinelander Bleecker ; 2. Adeline Hamilton, who married 
Thomas Ellis Brown ; 3. Alexander James, president of the Eagle Fire 
Insurance Company of New York;* 4. Anna E., who married Thomas 
A. Wilmerding; 5. Catharine Spencer, who died young; 6. Charles Will- 
iam, architect ; 7. DeWitt, stock-broker, who married Elizabeth Sigour- 
ney Burnham. 3. Ann Eliza, born April, i795,- died June 14, 1845, 
married James Foster, Jr.* 

DeWitt (3), third son of Gen. Jas. Clinton, and his wife Mary De- 
Witt, was born in New Windsor, March 2, 1769; died in Albany, Feb. 11, 
1828, in his fifty. ninth year. He married first, Maria Franklin, eldest 
daughter of Waiter Franklin, a wealthy Quaker of New York city, and 
Maria Bowne, daughter of Daniel Bowne of Flushing. Mrs. Clinton was 
a "lady of great beauty, and was highly accomplished." She was born in 
1775 and died in 1818; married Feb. 10, 1796. Ten children were the is- 
sue of this marriage, viz: i. Franklin, who died young; 2. Charles Alex- 
ander, died November 23, 1861, married Catharine Hone, daughter of 
John Hone and niece of PhiHp Hone. She died October 5, 1841. Six 
children — DeWitt, Catharine S., George William, Augusta, Maria E., 
Maria F. — all of whom died young except Catharine S., who married 
Joseph M. Carville, and died May 15, 1870, and Augusta, who mar- 



*Dr. Alexander Clinton was educated at Columbia college and was graduated 
from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1819. He practiced for some 
years in his native county and returned to this city in 1831, where he continued 
in the exercise of his profession until advanced age obliged him to abandon it. He 
was a successful practitioner, and notwithstanding the great degree of sensibility 
and diffident*', tli.at characterized him, his skill and talents were well known and 
justly held in high esteem by his brother physicians, some of the most noted of 
whom were among his mo'st inMmate friends. He was an officer in the United 
States army during the war of 1812 and with one exception the oldest member of 
the Society of the Cincinnati at the time of his death. A true gentleman of the 
old school, he was unostentatious and courteous to every one, inferiors as well as 
equals. — .V. Y. Herald. 

**Her descendants deny this, although it may be true. 




£),.^i^ 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 141 



ried Thomas L. Winthrop, and died October 25, 1859. 3. Walter, died 
young. 4. Julia died yuung. 5. James Henry, burn in 1802, died in 
1824, unmarried. 6. DeWitt, died young. 7. George William, a lawyer of 
Buffalo, N. Y., born April 13, 1807, married Laura Catharine Spencer, 
daughter of Hon. John C. Spencer, May, 1832, by whom he had seven 
children, viz. : DeWitt, a lawyer of Buffalo, — judge advocate with the 
right of major in the Civil War — married Eleanor Sappington 
died 1873, bearing no issue ; Elizabeth Spencer, who married Henry 
L. Clinton; Charles A., married I\Irs. Mary Lightner Southard; 
Spencer, lawyer; married Sarah Riley; Catharine Norton, who married 
Albert J. Wheeler; Mary Norton, who married Abraham H. Bald- 
win; George, lawyer, who married Alice Thornton; 8. Mary, daugh- 
ter of DeWitt. married David S. Jones; 9. Franklin, died unmarried: 
10. Julia, born August 20, 1815, died unmarried November 21. 1839. 
Me married, second, Catharine Jones, a "lady of accomplished manners 
and superior talents and acquirements." She was the daughter of Doc- 
tor Thomas Jones, an eminent physician of New York; her mother was 
the second daughter of Philip Livingston. She died without issue. July 
2d, 1855, at the residence of her step-daughter, Mary Clinton Jones, 
widow of David S. Jones, at Poughkeepsie. 

DeWitt Clinton was one of the most remarkable men of his time. 
He was born in New Windsor village* in 1769; received his primary 
education in the school conducted by Rev. John Moffat in the Little Brit- 
ain neighborhood; attended the Kingston Academy in 1782; graduated 
at Columbia College in 1786 and entered the law office of Samuel Jone.^ 

*Tl:e question of his birthplace will perhaps never be authoritatively deter- 
mined. Although a matter of little importance, it has elicited considerable dis- 
cussion. A local tradition has received credence to considerable extent that he 
was born in Deerpark, at the residence of Jacob Ruken DeWitt, Mrs. Clinton's 
brother. This tradition is countenanced by Mr. Eager in his "Orange County," 
(p. 630). The story is that Mrs. Clinton went on a visit to her brother, in Feb- 
ruary, 1769, and while there was prevented by a heavy snow storm from returning 
until after the birth of her child. The probability of the story is marred by its 
preciseness. That Mrs. Clinton left New Windsor in February and traversed the 
rough mountain roads for forty-five miles in her condition, would have been an 
indiscretion to say the least- Rev. Charles Scott attempted to correct the state- 
ment by saying that Mrs. Clinton went from Wawarsing to the residence of her 
brother in March, not thinking, perhaps, that in so writing he makes her take her 
trip about twenty-four hours before confinement. The tradition in its most reason- 
able form comes through the Burnet's, of New Windsor, one of whom, (Robert 
2), married Mrs. Clinton's niece, who says Mrs. Clinton went to Deerpark in the 
early part of the winter, that a heavy snow storm came on soon after and so 
blocked the roads that she did not deem it prudent to return. 

James Renwick, L. L. D., Professor of Columbia College, says in his bio- 
graphy: "DeWitt Clinton was born March 2. 1769, at Little Britain, the residence 
of his father, Gcnl. James Clinton." Assuming that this statement was made 
after special inquiry on that point, either at the time of DeWitt's entrance at col- 



1^2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



of New York, then of high rank in his profession. In 1789, he was a^l- 
initted to the bar, but accepting the appointment of secretary to his 
i;nck, Governor George, he gave up law for poUtics and from that time 
until his death was identified with the political history of the state. He 
was member of the assembly in 1798; elected United States Senator in 
1802, but resigned the place to accept the office of Mayor of New York, 
serving in the latter capacity in 1803, 1808-9 and 1811-15; was a mem- 
ber of the State Senate from 1799 to 1802, and 1806 to 1811 ; Canal 
Commissioner 1816 to 1822; Governor 1817, and in 1820, '24 and '26, 
being elected in the first instance by 43,310 votes out of a total cast of 
44,989. He died of hydro-throax, or dropsy of the chest, while sitting 
in his study, on the evening of February 11, 1828. "In person he was, " 
says Hammond in his Political History of New York, "the most perfect- 
specimens of humanity, combining dignity with elegance and symmetry 
of features ever produced in the state of New York." As governor, he 
was the reputed author, and at any rate assumed the responsibility of rec- 
ommending a larger number of great and important measures, which be- 
came laws, than all the governors who had preceded him. Perhaps no 
man who had yet lived in the state had equal natural abilities combined 
with equal advantages for becoming what he was. He was the pupil of 
liis uncle in politics and in the requirements of the state, and those a: 
all familiar with the expressed convictions of the former, cannot fail 
to see their reflection in the latter. He carried out his uncle's views in 
regard to internal improvements and other measures of state policy, 
through evil and through good report, with a steadiness of purpose that 
no obstacle could divert, and lived to see the former a successful com- 
pletion. "Among the masses of his fellow citizens," says Hammond. 

lege or subsequently, it cannot fail to be received as authority, but presuming that 
it was based on "the residence of his father," at the time he entered college, it is 
of no special value. It is not, however, unsupported by local tradition. 

Barber, in giving the place of birth as New Windsor village, is sustained by 
testimony, of no little force, but of which he was perhaps ignorant. That testi- 
mony is, that Charles Clinton, the grandfather of DeWitt, was surveyor and agent 
for the sale of lots in the village of New Windsor; that he acquired there a lot on 
which he erected a house, barn. etc. ; that he transferred his agency to his son, 
James, about 1762, and soon after, (Sept. 17. 1763 — Ulster Records G. G., no), 
sold and transferrd to him the property referred to, and that there the latter 
opened an office, and after his marriage, (probably in the fall of 1765), took and 
continued his residence there, remaining until after the death of his father in 1773, 
when he removed to the old homestead, i^etters are extant written by Col. Clin- 
ton, dated "Little Britain," addressed to Capt. James Clinton, "at New Windsor," 
which are additional evidence of the latter's residence there. The removal to Lit- 
tle Britain during his infancy would explain the tradition that DeWitt was born 
there, while the fact that his brother, Alexander, vras born in Deerpark and bap- 
tized in the church at Shawangunk, explains the probable origin of the story that 
DtWitt was bom there. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 143 

"he was personally unpopular, from a certain coldness and hauteur of 
manner." This peculiarity was a family inheritance. Nor was he rt 
markable for his conversational powers : on literary subjects and othe- 
grave topics, he was interesting though not eloquent ; his attempts at 
wit, among those with whom he associated were generally puerile and 
sometimes offensive. As a political writer, he was capable of keen and 
Siting sarcasm, perhaps more so than any other writer of the age." .\n 
index of his mind is perhaps to be found in the decisions which he ren- 
dered while member of the State Senate, by virtue of which position he 
was also, ex officio, a member of the highest court of the state. "Some 
of these," says Chancellor Kent, "are models of judicial and parlia- 
mentary eloquence, and they all relate to important questions, affecting 
constitutional rights and personal liberty. They partake more of the 
character of a statesman's discussions than that of a dry technical law- 
yer." The general summary of his character will be anticipated from 
what has been written: As a statesman he was preeminent; as a politic- 
ian, he was defective in natural tact and address. He was able, honest 
and patriotic in his conduct as a public servant and a man of indomitable 
personal and moral courage. He died poor, and in view of the cir- 
cumstances the legislature voted an annuity of $10,000 for the supiwrt 
and education of his children. 

George (4), son of General James Clinton, was born June 6, 1771 
and died in New York city, September 16, 1809, in his thirty-ninth year. 
He was an "intelligent and accomplished gentleman, and at different 
times represented the city of New York in the State Legislature and ia 
Congress." He married Hannah Franklin, sister of the wife of his 
brother, DeWitt. She was born in 1785 and died Afay 12, 1855. They 
had three children: i. Mary Caroline, born j\Iay 9, 1802, died January 
18, 1870, was the wife of Henry Overing; 2. Franklin, died young: 3. 
Julia Matilda, married first, George Ginton Tallmadge, 1826, and second. 
James Foster, Jr. She died November ist, 1880. 

Mary (5), eldest daughter of General Clinton, born Julv 20, 1773, 
died at Albany, September 4, 1808. She married first (1795) Robert 
Burrage Norton, and second (1807) Judge Ambrose Spencer. 

Elizabeth (6) was born January 12, 1776 and died at Binghamton 
August 2y, 1832, in her fifty-seventh year. She married William Stuart 
in 1803. 

Catharine (7), born September 24, 1778, died at Albany, Augiist 20, 
1837. She married first (1805) Samuel J. L. Norton, and second 
{1809) Judge Ambrose Spencer. 



J . , History of The Town of New Windsor. 

James (8), General Clinton's first child by Mrs. Gray his secon.i 
wife, died young. 

Caroline H. (9), born March 27, 1800, married Judge Charles H. 
Dewey 1824, died May 21, 1864. 

Emma (10), born February, 1802, died unmarried, 1823. 

James Graham (11), born January 2, 1804, died in New York, May 
28, 1849. He was admitted to the bar in 1826; was for some years a 
master in chancery, and represented the district in Congress from 1841 
to 1845. ^^ was married December 2^, 1826 to Maigaret Ellsworth 
Conger, daughter of Joshua Conger, of Montgomery; she died Decem- 
ber 29, 1863. They had one son, DeWitt. He was captain in the army, 
during the war with Mexico, and died unmarried at battle of Riva.<. 
April 7, 1856. 

Letitia (12), born April 17, 1806, married Dr. Francis Bolton, Jan- 
uary 26, 1830, and died April 23, 1842, leaving one son surviving, James 
Clinton Bolton, now dead. 

Anna (13), born July 26, 1809, married Lieutenant Edward Ross of 
U. S. army, November 9, 1830. died December 11, 1833. 

George (7), youngest son of Charles and Elizabeth Clinton, was 
born at Little Britain, Sunday, July 26, 1739, and died in Washington 
city (where he was buried) April 20, 1812, in his seventy-third year. 

George Clinton was to the state of New York what Washington was 
to the nation. In early life he gave promise of great activity and cour- 
age; he left his father's house and sailed in a privateer in the French 
war, and on his return demanded and received a place in the expedition 
under his father and his brother against Fort Frontenac. At the close 
of the war he settled down to the study of law under Judge William 
Smith. In 1759 he was appointed Clerk of Ulster County, but held that 
position for only about one year. He took an active part in colonial 
politics and was elected to a seat in the Assembly in 1760, serving until 
the closing session of that body imder the English government. In the 
discussions of that period no voice raised in the province was more con- 
sistent and firm in resisting the demands of the ministry, nor was there 

*New York was represented in the continental congress by twelve delegates, 
and three or four of whom were authorized to cast the vote of the State. The vote 
on the Declaration being taken by states, and the delegates from New York being 
under instructions, none of them voted for the measure. Clinton and several of 
his associates hurried home to secure the repeal of their instructions, and having 
effected that object, the signature of the state was attached to the instrument by 
the representatives there present, William Floyds, Philip Livingston. Francis 
Lewis and Lewis Morris. Whatever may have been their personal opinions, their 
signatures were not judicially a personal act- Their names stand as the synonym 
of th state which they represented. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



145 



of his contemporaries one whose energy and zeal was more devoted. In 
1775 he was elected to the Continental Congress and served in that body 
tntil after the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, that instru 
ment, however, failing to receive, under instructions from the provincial 
convention of New York, either his vote or his signature.* He was ap- 
pointed a brigadier-general in the army of the United States in 1776 and 
during the earlier years of the war was active in military affairs in New 
York, where he held, by virtue of appointment, commission as brigadier - 
general of militia, subsequently by virtue of his office as governor, he 
was commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the state. In the 
former capacity he was in the field with his brigade for the defense of 
'New York city in 1776; and in the latter, held command of the forts m 
the Highlands at the time of their reduction by Sir Henry Clinton, Oc- 
tober 7, 1777, and marched to the defense of the Mohawk Valley in 
1779. In April, 1777, he was elected Governor and Lieutenant-Gover- 
nor, under the first constitution of the state, and was continued in the 
former office eighteen years. His duties were peculiarly trying. The 
state wag the battle-ground of the nation during almost the entire war of 
the Revolution ; invasions of the enemy swept in on the north and on the 
south, while the western frontiers were ravaged by savages and tories ; 
yet through the darkest clouds of the heroic stniggle he held the helm 
with a firm hand and an inspiring courage. His duties after peace was 
established were not less trying though of a different type ; poverty and 
distress were in his borders, and crude laws required shaping to the 
changed political relations of the people. In this respect New York dif- 
fered from the eastern provinces. There, the rebellion carried with It 
the provincial government, in New York a government had to be formed, 
and that it was wisely formed and still moie wisely administered no one 
v.'ill question. He was president of the convention assembled at Pough- 
keepsie to consider the federal constitution in 1788;* was again chosen 

*See note bottom of page. 144 

**To understand fully the politics of that period one must read Hammond's 
"Political History of New York," "History of the Constitution," etc. New York 
had a policy of its own growing out of its geographical position which it was 
loath to relinquish. The legislature had voted to send delegates to the consti- 
tutional convention to amend the articles of confederation, not to frame a new- 
instrument, and, had not approved that instrument in the convention. The new 
instrument was believed to be defective in its judical provisions, and in other 
respects, and above all it contained no bill of rights guaranteeing personal lib- 
erty, freedom of religion, etc. Massachusetts and Virginia opposed its adoption, 
and only consented to it under an implied agreement that amendments should be 
made. Those amendments were made and may be found in all publications of 
the constitution. Without them, very few men would be found to-day who would 
vote for the constitution. He is a very ignorant man who denounces Clinton for 
his opposition. 



146 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

Governor of New York in 1801, and in 1804 was elected Vice-President 
of the United States, which position he held, by re-election in 1808, at 
the time of his death. It was by his casting vote that the bill for re- 
newing the first charter of the bank of the United States was defeated, 
his opposition being placed on the ground that at best the power of 
Congress was doubtful, and that it should ever be considered the safest 
rule that Congress should not exercise doubtful powers. In whatever 
position he was placed, either in public or in private life, whatever he 
esteemed to be his duty was executed fearlessly and promptly. When 'a 
the city of New York, at the close of the war, he saw an English officer 
in the hands of the mob, to be tarred and feathered, he rushed single- 
handed to his rescue and saved him from the ignominy, and when again 
what was known as the Doctors' Mob was raging, he called out the mi- 
litia and quelled the disturbance. In the most trying periods of the Rev- 
olution he did waver in the protection of friends. His old legal instruc- 
tor was a "King's Man," or Tory. He gave him liberty under restraim, 
but, he added, "Don't write to me again while the war lasts. Col. Col- 
den and Vincent Matthews of his own neighborhood, met similar treat- 
ment, and Silas Gardner was pardoned by him under the gallows. These 
incidents simply show his character. As early as 1783, he considered and 
discussed the construction of canals for the internal commerce of 
the state, and it was from these discussions that his nephew, DeWitt 
Clinton, became the executive in measures which won for the state the 
title of Empire; indeed the latter only extended and sounded the ad- 
ministration of his uncle, with the added brilliancy of his own great in- 
tellect. In private life he was frank, amiable and warm in his friend- 
ships. He married Cornelia Tappen, only daughter of Petrus and Tyante 
Tappen, of Kingston, Feb. 7, 1770, and immediately thereafter took up his 
residence in New Windsor, where he remained until October, 1777, when 
on the fall of the Highland forts his family hastily removed to Litth-^ 
Britain, and from the latter place to Poughkeepsie in December.* Hir, 
children were: i. Catharine, born in New Windsor November 5, 1770; 
married, first John Taylor, of New York city, October 25, 1791. Mr. 
jTaylor died November 26, of the same year, and, June 4, 1801, she 
married Major-General Pierre Van Cortlandt. She died at Peekskill, 
Jan. 10, 181 1, in her forty-first year. 2. Cornelia Tappen, born in New 



*His residence in New Windsor was on the farm late of Thomas W. Christie. 
It was sold by Clinton to Hugh Walsh, who sold the Christie homestead to Capt 
Charles Ludlow, who bequeathed it to his daughter, Mrs. Christie. His removal 
to Poughkeepsie and subsequently to New York wias in consequence of the 
changes in the location of the state government. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 147 



Windsor June 29, 1774; married Citizen Edmund Charles Genet,** No- 
vember 6, 1794, and died March 23, 1810, in her thirty-sixth year. ,v 
Gerog-e Washing-ton, born at Poug'hkeepsie, October 18, 1778; married 
Anna Floyd, daug^hter of General William Floyd, September 19, 1808; 
died March 27, 1813, leaving one son, George William Floyd, born In 
Poughkeepsie. October 31, 1809, died unmarried in New York May 12. 
1842, in his 33d year. 4. Elizabeth, born in Poughkeepsie. July to. 
1780; married Mathias B. Tallmadge, October 25, 1803, died April 8, 
1825. 5. Martha Washington, born in Poughkeepsie. October 12, 1783, 
died February 20, 1795. 6. Maria, born in New York, October 6, 1785, 
married Dr. Stephen D. Beekman, died April 17, 1829. 

In connection with the descendants of Charles Clinton may properly 
be noticed those of his sisters. Christiana and Mary, aud also of his aunt, 
Margaret. 

Christiana Clinton, first married John Beatty. a resident native of 
County Antrim, Ireland, by whom she had, Charles, Arthur, Mary and 
Martha, and a son James, who died on the voyage to America in 1729, 
and on the same voyage, her husband, John Beatty. also died.* Some- 
time after her settlement in Little Britain, she married James Scott, 
and removed to New York, where her husband died in March. 1757. 
She continued her residence in New York until her death, which oc- 
curred in March or April, 1776 or 1777, in the 91st year of her age. It 
is said of her that "she was possessed of a mind, both naturally and b/ 
cultivation, of a superior order, and of great moral purity. She was 
exceedingly dignified in her deportment, and a pattern of propriety in 
her manners, conversation and dress. The portrait of her represents a 
lady with quite an agreeable and intelligent countenance." 

Her daughter, Mary, married at Little Britain, Robert Gregg, to 
whom she bore five children. Within the space of six weeks, she was 
deprived by death of her husband, a daughter, Jane, and three sons. 
John Charles and James. These most afflictive events produced 
mental derangement. She lived to a great age, and towards the 
close of her life her intellect was restored. Her son, James Gregg, 
was in command of a company of volunteers, under Colonel James 
Clinton, in the Canada expedition of 1775, and subsequently under Col. 
Gansevort, at Fort Schuyler. During the investment of that post bv 
St. Leger, in 1777, he was the subject of a most remarkable adventure. 
Going out from the fort one day with two soldiers to shoot pigeons, 

♦♦Embassador from the French Republic to the United States in 1793. 
*See Genealogical Sketch, by Joseph Young, in Appendix. 



148 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

all three were shot down and scalped by Indians in ambush Recovering 
consciousness, he bade his dog, who had accompanied him, to go for 
'help. As if endowed with intelligence the animal at once obeyed. He 
ran about a mile and found two men fishing, who were induced by his 
moans to follow him to his master. The captain was conveyed to the 
fort, and after suffering much, was restored to health. "He was a most 
frightful spectacle," says Dr. Macher. "The whole of his scalp was re- 
moved; in two places on the forepart of his head the tomahawk had 
penetrated the skull; there was a wound in his back with the same in- 
strument, besides a wound in his side and another through his arm with 
a musket ball." (Lossing's Field Book. History Newburgh, 279). He 
continued in the service until the close of the war, was a half-pay officer, 
and also a member of the Society of the Cincinatti. He died without is- 
stje; as did also his brothers John and Charles. His sister married 
Stuart Wilson and has descendants. 

Martha, the second daughter of Christiana Clinton, was distinguished 
for great personal beauty. She married a Mr. McMillan, by whom she 
had one son. Her husband died at an early age, and she took up her 
residence with her mother, in New York, where she died. 

Charles Beatty, Christiana Qinton's eldest son, was born in County 
Antrim, Ireland, about 171 5. He accompanied his mother and her rel- 
atives to Little Britain in 1736, where we find his name among the en- 
rolled militia in 1738. August 22, 1744, being then a resident of Nesh- 
aming, Penn., he purchased two hundred and fifty acres of the Cornelius 
Low patent, and sold the same to James McClaughry, July 14, 1749. 
What his early occupation was is not known. It is said, however, that 
he started out as a merchant, carrying his goods in a pack on his back. 
In one of his tours he stopped at the "Log College," in Bucks County, 
Penn., then under the care of the elder William Lennet, who, becoming 
interested in him, induced him to enter the ministry. He was licensed 
to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of New Brunswick, October 
13th, 1742, and on the 26th March, 1743, was called to succeed his patron 
and instructor, at the Forks of Neshaming, where he was ordained and in- 
stalled on the 14th of December. After a laborious and useful life in the 
ministry, he died at Bridgeton, in the island of Barbadoes (whither he 
had gone to solicit funds for the College of New Jersey), August I3tli, 
1772, of yellow fever. 

He married, June 24th, 1746, Ann, daughter of John Reading, of 
New Jersey, who bore him eleven children, nine of whom reached ma- 
ture life, viz: Mary, Christiana, John, Elizabeth, Martha, Charles Clin- 
ton, Reading, Erkuries, George, William Pitt and Ann. Erkuries was 



History of The Town of New Windsor. iao 

an officer in the army of the Revolution, and the father of Rev. Charles 
Clinton Beatty, D. D., L. L. D., of Steubenville, Ohio. 

The complete list of Christiana Clinton's descendants exhibits one of 
the most remarkable families in American history. What the descen- 
dants of her brother were in the politics of the nation, hers were in the 
relig"ious field, in which she still has several distinguished representatives. 

Mary Clinton, the second sister of Charles, married a Mr. Condy and 
had a daughter, Ann, who was the mother of Hon. John Taylor, of Al- 
bany, The latter died without issue. 

Margaret Clinton, aunt of Charles, married John Parks, and was the 
maternal ancestor of John Young, one of the Clinton immigrants of 
1729, and also of Arthur Parks, who settled at Montgomery some years 
iater. The Craw fords of Albany, and the Bost wicks of Troy, are also 
of her lineage. 



jcQ History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER IX. 



biographical and genealogical sketches. 

In a previous chapter of this work has been given, in connection with 
the settlement of patents, the names of the pioneer famiHes of New 
Windsor.* In regard to Patrick MacGregorie and his associates no fur- 
ther information has been obtained than is stated in that connection. 
They were unquestionably the first European immigrants in the present 
county. Following the JMacGregorie colony, and, very nearly in chrono- 
logical order, were the families of William Chambers, William Suther- 
land, Peter Matthews, John Alsop, Joseph Sackett, Thomas Ellison, 
John Nicoll, Peter Mullinder, John Humphrey, John Reid and Robert 
Burnet, who were followed by Charles Clinton, Alexander Denniston, 
John Young and others, known as the Clinton immigrants, in 1730, after 
which time settlements were more rapid and at dates which cannot now 
be ascertained with certainty, but are in many cases approximated by 
the military roll of 1738. 

WILLIAM CHAMBERS. 

William Chambers, one of the holders of the Chambers and Suther- 
land patent, was a resident thereon prior to its date of issue. He died 
in 1738 leaving sons William and John. William entered the English 
Navy and rose to the rank of Admiral. He died without issue. ** John 
studied law and entered practice in New York city in 1730. In August, 
175 1, Governor CHnton,(the first), recommended him for appointment 
as a member of the Council, saying that he was "a gentleman of good 
reputation and a large estate, and a person the most agreeable in the 
whole province," as he had "always behaved with moderation, never 
countenancing any faction." He served in this capacity until 1762. In 
1754. he was one of the representatives of the province in the famous 
Congress at Albany. In 175 1, he was appointed Second Justice of the 
Supreme Court, which lie resigned in 1761. He died in 1762-3. Gov- 

*See Patents and First Settlements. 
♦Ante p. — Patents and First Settlements. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i c j 

ernor Colden writes: "I never heard his integrity called in question." 
"His religion was that of the Church of England, of which he was no* 
only a zealous professor but an ornament, and an honor to the religio;' 
he professed." (Jones' History N. Y.) 

WILLIAM SOUTHERLAND. 

William Southerland, (now written Sutherland), was also a settler on 
the patent with Chambers prior to its issue. He died leaving a family, 
of whom David Sutherland was a purchaser from Dr. John Nicoll of a 
portion' of the Lawrence patent, in the town of Cornwall, and is pre- 
sumed to have been the founder of the Cornwall family of Sutherlands. 
Sutherland's creek takes its name from him. Charles Sutherland was 
the holder of part of the original purchase in 1815. From abstract of 
wills on file in the office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, at Albany, 
the following abstracts are taken : 

"Southerland. David, of New Cornwall Precinct. Orange Co.. yeo- 
man. Wife Mary; grandson Charles Southerland; sons Andrew, David, 
Alexander ; granddaughters : Mary and Jane, daughters of dec'd son 
Patrick; daughters Jane, wife of William Edminster ( ?) ; Lesbia ( ?) 
wife of Moses Clark; Mary, wife of Robert Farrier; da.-in-law Mar- 
garet, widow of son Patrick. 

"Dated February 27, 1769; probated November 3, 1778. 

"Alack Gregory, Patrick, of Orange Co. yeoman. Daughter Mary, 
wife of David Southerland of Ulster Co., and her sons Patrick and 
David ; grandson Gregor AlacGregory. Executors : son-in-law David 
Southerland and John Alsop. Dated Feb. 25, 1727-8; probated Nov. 20, 
1728." 

Patrick Alack Gregory was son of Patrick A'lacGregory or Alac- 
Gregor, of Plum Point. 

PETER MATTHEWS. 

Peter Matthews, originally from Ireland, was a captain in the ^^''ar 
of i692-'93, and engaged in active service in the Alohawk country. Gov- 
ernor Bellomont made a lieutenant of him, and wrote, in 1700, that h.^ 
kept a tap-house in New York; that he was "bred up from a child with 
Governor Fletcher ;" that it was at his house the "angry people" of New 
York had their club and held their cabals, and that he was no friend to 
bim (Bellomont), for which reason he tried to have him removed or ex- 
changed, but did not succeed. Governor Cornbury was his friend and 



JC2 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

sent him to England as bearer of dispatches in 1702. On his return 
he appears to have resumed his miHtary duties, and in 17 15 was ap- 
pointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He held several patents and 
was a party in others which were obtained in the names of other per- 
sons, among the number that to Chambers and Sutherland. He died 
in 1719. His son, Vincent Matthews (there is no record of other child- 
ren), purchased, August 22d, 1721, for £1000, of Rip Van Dam & Co.,* 
the patent for three thousand acres of land, granted to them in 1709, on 
which he settled and to which he gave the name of Matthewsfield. He 
served as Clerk of the original County of Orange from 1726 to 1763; as 
Member of Assembly from 1726 to 1759, and as Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas in 1733. He was largely interested in land 
patents, holding among others the New Windsor tract, and the Poresr 
of Dean tract. He died in June, 1784. It appears by his will, which 
is on file in the office of the Clerk of the Court of Appeals, of the State 
of New York, that he was married, first to Catalina Abeel, of Westen- 
hook, Columbia County, by whom he had four childrn — i. Fletcher; 
2. James; 3. David; 4. Bridget, (who married Doctor Evan Jones)" 
all of whom were born in Orange County. By his second wife 
Elizabeth, he had a daughter of the same name, who married Theo- 
philus Beekman, of New York. Fletcher (i), married Sarah, daughter 

♦The patentees were Rip Van Dam. Adolph Phillipse, David Provost, Jr., 
Lancaster Syrus, and Thomas Jones. The tract contained 3,000 acres, of which 
each patentee held one-fifth. The patent was granted March 23, 1709. 
Rip Van Dam & Co. (patent) — Rip Van Dam. Adolph Phillipse, David Provost, 

Jr., Lancaster Syrus, and Thomas Jones — 3,000 acres — "beginning at a station 

bearing from Maringoman's wigwam west 24d., S. 85 chains." Issued March 

23 d, 1700. 
S5old by Rip Van Dam, Adolph Phillipse, David Provost, Lancaster Syrus, John 

Thomas and David Jones, to Vincent Matthews, Aug. 22, 1721. Described. 

"Beginning at a certain station bearing from Maringoman's wigwam W. 24d. 

85 ch. and runs thence N. lid. E. 120 ch., thence E. 11 d. S. 200 ch., thence 

S. I id. W. 180 ch.. thence W. 27d. N. 211 ch., to the station above named, 

bounded on all four sides by unpatented lands. Containing in the whole 

3,000 acres, be it more or less " Oinsideration ii.ooo. 
Vincent Matthews erected grist mill at Salisbur\^ — date not known' — ^and sold the 

same to John Carpenter, July 21, 1762, for £800 N. Y. lawful money. Deed 

conveys lands and falls and grist mills on Murderer's Creek. — Orange County 

Review. Lib. C, 445. 
Henry Wisner, in company with John Carpenter, was authorized to erect Powder 

Mill, "at or near John Carpenter's saw mill," in the precinct of Cornwall. 

April 27, 1776. — Prov. Con, N. Y. 

**Dr. Evan Jones had his residence in New Windsor. He died about 1763. 
leaving sons John and Thomas. The latter was a physician in practice in New 
York city, from which place he returned to Matthewsfield in 1777. He was ap- 
pointed member of the State Senate from New York, under the first constitution 
('1777)< but resigned in consequence of failing health. — Journal Prov. Con., 11, 440. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i c -> 



of Jesse Woodhull, in 1758.** He resided in the city of x\e\v York, 
during the latter part of his life,*** and died there. His daughter, 
Catalina, married Jonathan Brooks. David (3), married Sarah Sey- 
mour in 1758, by whom he had ten children. He succeeded his fathc 
as Clerk of the County of Orange (1763), but subsequently removed to 
New York, of which city he was appointed Mayor, by Governor Tryon. 
in 1776. Soon after his appointment, he was arrested by the Commit 
tee of Safety, charged with conduct inimical to the cause of American 
Independence, and sent for safe keeping to Hartford, Conn. James (2), 
married Hannah Strong, in 1762. He was the father of General Vin- 
cent Matthews, of Rochester (born in Orange County in June, 1766; 
died June 2t„ 1846), who served in the State Senate, and in Congress, 
and was regarded, at the time of his death, as the father of the bar of 
western New York. \"incent and his sons David and Fletcher, and hi.s 
grandson, Vincent, were members of the bar of Orange County. The 
family was a remarkable one in many respects. 

General Vincent Matthews, born Orange County, 1766; died Roches- 
ter, 1846; m Juliana Strong, born 1773, died Rochester, 1850; daugh- 
ter of Nathaniel and Amy (Brewster) Strong, of Blooming Grove. 
Orange County, N. Y., Vincent was a son of James Matthews, born at 
Matthewsfield (Blooming Grove), 1742; died at Ebserion, 1816; married 
Hannah Strong, born 1742, daughter of Selah and Hannah (Woodhull) 
Strong. Born, 1722, died 1776; Vincent (2), son of Vincent Matthews 
(i), born 1699, died at New York, 1784. m. Catalina Abell, born, 1698, 
daughter of John Abell: born 1667, died 1711. Mayor of Albany, i694-'5. 

Fletcher Matthews, of New York — During the war he was pro- 
ceeded against by the Commissioners appointed to the charge of per 
sons who adhered to the crown, and was ordered to be sent within the 
British lines. But Governor Clinton having so far interfered with tht 
decision as to detain him for the purpose of exchange, he was suffered 
to remain in the country without interruption. 

Sabrine. — He was not a resident of New York city, but of Orange 
County, living near the home of Governor Clinton, and an early neigh- 
borhood associate, and under Governor Clinton's protection he lived and 
died at Matthewsfield. 



**Fletcher Matthews' residence was in the old town of New Windsor prior to 
his removal to New York. The property was subsequently occupied by his son- 
in-law, Jonathan Brooks. 

***Civil list. Eager's Orange Co., 53S. 



154 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



JOHN ALSOP. 



John Alsop was the son of Richard AIsop, who died at Newton, L, 
L, October. 1718, aged about fifty-eight years. He married December,. 
1718, Abigail, daughter of Joseph Sackett. He adopted the profes- 
sion of law; located at New Windsor m i724-'5. and was admit- 
ted to practice in the courts of Orange County in 1734. He removed to 
New York in 1749, and there continued his legal pursuits until his death, 
which occurred April 8, 1761, aged 64 years. He left two sons, John, Jr., 
and Richard, and two daughters, Euphemia and Frances. Euphemia 
married Thos. Stevenson; Frances died single. John, Jr., became eminen<: 
as a politician, represented the city of New York in the Provincial Con- 
vention, and was a delegate to the first Continental Congress in 1774. 
Although a whig, in the early part of the controversy with the Mothc 
country, he was opposed to separation from the crown, and hence when the. 
Declaration of Independence was adopted, he resigned his seat in Con- 
gress. He died November 22, 1794, leaving one child, Mary, who mar- 
ried the distinguished Rufus King, and was the mother of the late Hon. 
John A. King. Governor George Clinton and John Alsop, Jr., wers 
born almost side by side, in the town of New Windsor ; served together 
in the historical Continental Congress, and had the latter been as fortu- 
nate in his political associations as the former, he would have left be 
hind him a completed record. 

JOSEPH SACKETT. 

Joseph Sackett and Joseph Sackett, Jr., whose names are more or 
less identified with the history of the town, were natives of New- 
town, L. I.* Joseph, Jr., was the fourth of that name, and also the 
fourth son of his father. He married Millicent, daughter of Samuel 
Clowse, of Jamaica, and after doing business in New York as a mer- 
chant for some years, removed to New Windsor prior to the organiza- 
tion of the township, where he owned a "small piece of land between 
the land of John Alsop on the north, and the land of Thomas Ellison 
on the south," on which he established a store and a wharf, and from 
which he proposed to run a ferry to Fishkill in 1742, but failed to obtain 
a charter. "Sackett's Alley," in the village of New Windsor, was so 
called from his use and possession. 



*Riker's Annual of Neiutown. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



155 



SAMUEL BREWSTER. 



Samuel Brewster, who became a resident of the town of New Wind- 
sor about 1743, was the son of Timothy (2), son of Timothy (i), Who 
was the son of Nathaniel Brewster,* who was the son of Jonathan 
Brewster, son of Elder William Brewster, of Plymouth colony, who eni 
barked from England on the Mayflower, September 6, 1620, and died 
at Duxbury, Mass., in 1644. On his removal to New Windsor he was 
accompanied by his brother, Henry, who, with himself, formed two of 
sixteen proprietors of the "Township of New Windsor" (now the vil- 
lage of New Windsor), in 1749. He established a saw mill at the foo: 
of Forge-hill, now in the village of Moodna, and subsequently a forge 
and anchorage, which he conducted for several years, and at which he 
constructed in part the obstructions to the navigations of the liudson dur- 
ing the war of the Revolution. His early residences would seem to have 
been in New Windsor village and later at ]\Ioodna (then Orangevillej. 
In 1763 he erected a stone house on the Forge-hill road, a short dis- 
tance north of Temple Hill, now or lately on the farm of the late Francis 
Weygant. A stone in the north gable bears the initials of his name and 
aate. It is presumed that it was erected for his son Timothy, who re- 
moved to Woodbridge, N. J., after the Revolution. The house is marked 
on the DeWitt Map of the cantonment of the army in 1783, and has re- 
mained as an unmistakable landmark. From his first advent in the 
town he seems to have taken the rank of a man of substantial character 
and to have maintained it. On the organization of the Presbyterian 
Church of New Windsor, September 14, 1764, he was chosen one of 
its Elders, and in 1773, served as Trustee of the united congregations 3f 
Bethlehem and New Windsor for the Murderer's Creek district and also 
for the New Windsor district. In 1763, he was one of the Assessors of 
the town. He was active in promoting the success of the Revolution, 
and filled the post of Chairman of the Committee of Safety of the town 
during the entire period, and served as a member of the Provincial Con- 
vention, 1775-6, and of the Committee of Safety of that body in which 
was vested all authority during the recess of the Convention. His more 
pressing duties in the con'Struction of the river obstructions compelled 
his retirement in 1777. He died February 10, 1802, in his 83d year, 
and his wife, Mary Wood, died February 3d, 1807. in her 85th year 



*Webster in his "History of Presbyterianism in .America." writes: "Brook 
haven, L. L, was settled from Boston, in 1655. For thirty-five years the town had 
for its minister Nathaniel Brewster, the grandson of the Ruling Elder of the Pil- 
gj-im Church of Pl)rmouth." 



156 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Their children were: i. Samuel; 2. Timothy; 3. Hannah (marrie-i 

DuBois) ; 4. Abigail (married Jonas Williams) ; 5. Susanna 

(married Moores) — tof whom Samuel (i), settled in Rock- 
land (then Orange) County, and, was State Senator in 1805. (See 
History Rockland County). Timothy (2), was born in New Windsor, 
November 3, 1746; married Phebe Wood, born February 17, 1754; re- 
moved to Basking Ridge, N. J., near the close of the Revolution, and 
from thence to Woodbridge, N. J., where he occupied a large tract of 
land bordering oon Staten Island Sound, now or lately in the possession 
of one branch of his descendants. His children were : 

1. Samuel, (2), born July 12, 1775; married Jane Wood, and had 
Phebe, Benjamin, Timothy, Jonas W., Harriet,* Mary, Amy Maria, mar- 
ried Jesse Smith Woodhull, died September 30, 1824, aged 27 years, and 
one whose name has not been learned. 

2. John, born August 15, 1777; died August 27, 1822; married, 
February 27, 1797, Nancy, daughter of James Meeker. {See Munsell's 
American Ancestry. 

3. Jonas W., bom February 28, 1780 — ^^had one son and two daugh 
t-.rs — names not ascertained. 

4. Mary, born April 7, 1782, married Noe, had Catharine 

and Albert, the latter a well-known resident of Newburgh. 

5. Nathaniel, born October 27, 1786, married, first, Keziah O 
Smedes, had William C. (known as Captain William C. Brewster, of 
Coldenham), Nathaniel Augustus, and Susan Ann, (Mrs. George C. 
Weeks). His first wife died April 9, 1853, ^^d he married second, 
Mary Ann Bowne, without issue. Nathaniel Brewster removed from 
Woodbridge to Orange County about 1812, and located on a farm in the 
town of Montgomery. In 1823, he was elected an elder of Goodwill 
Church, in which ofifice he remained until his death in 1869. 

6. Timothy, born April 22, 1789, married Juliet Wood, and haa 
Cordelia, Mary (Mrs. Martine), Harriet, Eugene A.,**and Catharine — 



*Harriet, daug-hter of Samuel (2) married Andrew J. Callwell, of Salisbury 
Mills, by whom she had three daughters and two sons; of whom Samuel Brewster 
and Richard were survivors in 1885. Her father was State Senator from thi*. 
Middle District 1805. 6, 7. 8. See Civil List; also Hammond's Politicail History. 
207, etc. 

**Eugene A. Brewster was born in New York city April 13, 1827, the family re- 
moving to Newburgh when he was three years old. Thrown upon his own re- 
sources he was an earnest student, and early qualified for the position of a sub- 
ordinate instructor in the Newburgh High School, where he was employed for 
two years- In August, 1843, he entered the office of the late Hon. John W. 
Brown as a student and was admitted to the bar in 1848. He remained in Judge 
Brown's office until that gentleman took bis seat as Judge of the Supreme Court 
in January, 1850. He then united in partnership with Nathan Reeve, under the 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i ry 

residents of Nevvburgh. Phebe Wood, first wife of Timothy (i), die J 
May ID, 1792, aged 38 years. By his second wife he had: 

7. George Y., born December 28, 1794, married Elizabeth , 

had Catharine, born July 23, 1821 ; Ezra M., born January 2%, 1823; 

Walter, born October 11, 1824; Sarah E,, born SeptemV>>- '- .826; 
Albert, born November 18, 1830. 

8. James, born in 1798, died in infancy. 

Abigail, daughter of Samuel Brewster (i), who married. January 13, 
1779, Jonas Williams, of Moodna, had five daughters: i. Mary, who 
married Jacob Drake, of New York; 2. Anne, who married John NicoU, 
of New Windsor; 3. Helen, who married Doctor J. B. Johnes, of Mor- 
ristown, N. J.; 4. Susan E., who married Peter Roe,* of New Windsor: 
and 5. Abigail, who married Samuel Oakley, of New York. Her sons 
were: Richard and Samuel Williams, the latter for several years a mer- 
chant in Nevvburgh and the father of Colonel George A. Williams, U. 
.S. A., Charles E. Williams, Jonas William and Mrs. Robert .\. Forsyth. 
William, Jr., Captain 56th Regiment, killed at Fair Oaks. Mrs. Abigail 
(Brewster) Williams died December 22, 1804. 

Anne Williams, daughter of Jonas and Abigail (Brewster) Williams, 
born December 22, 1785. died August 29, i86t. married John Nicoll. 
October 29, 1802. 

Ruth Nicoll, daugliter of Anne and Jonas Williams, born July 12, 
1810, died July 9th, 1885, marri.ed September 13, 1831, John Richard 
Coldwell — children, William. John Nicoll, Richard, Charles. Mary, 
James Parks. 

TIMOTHY BREWSTER. 

Timothy Brewster, brother of Samuel Brewster, located in Cornwall 
near Murderer's Creek, where, in 1765, he was chosen, at Precinct meet- 
ing, one of Overseers of Roads for the "water-side" district. He mar- 
ried EHzabeth, third daughter of Nathan Clark, Jr., and Abigail Mill-: 
his wife. She was born in Bedford, Westchester County, N. Y., about 
1741, and married at Cornwall. N. Y., sometime prior to 1766, and bt 

firm name of Reeve & Brewster, which continued for five years, at the expiration 
of which time he opened an office and has since conducted a large legal business, 
ranking among the most competent in his profession. He was one of the original 
members of the Almshouse Commission, and has also served with credit as a 
member of the Board of Education. He married in 1859, Anna W., daughter of 
Rev. John Brown, D. D. 

*See Roe Family in History of Newburgh. Rev. E. P. Roe was one of her 
descendants. 



I eg History of The Town of New Windsor. 

tliat date herself and husband united by profession with the Presbyterian 
Church at its organization, May 5th, of that year, as appears by the rec- 
ords of that church. The children of Timothy Brewster and Elizabetli, 
his wife, were Nathan, Isaac, Jacob, Phebe (married John Canfield), and 
Sarah (married a Buttervvorth) — (Genealogy of Samuel Clark, Sr.). 
Nathan Clark, Sr. was one of the settlers at Rippowanis, now Stamford. 
Conn., in 1646. The following entries appear in New Windsor Church 
records : 

"1778, Nov. 30 — Married — Timothy Brewster and Sarila Wood, 
widow, Cornwall Precinct. 

"1776, March i — Baptised — Elizabeth, daughter to Timothy Brew- 
-ster, Senior." 

John and Henry Brewster, also brothers ( ?) of Samuel, settled m 
the Blooming Grove district and founded families. 

ROBERT BOYD. 

The Boyds of New Windsor, Robert and Robert, Jr., were natives 
of Scotland and blacksmiths by occupation. Robert, Sr. was a pur- 
chaser on the Mcintosh patent, prior to 1751. Robert, Jr., obtained from 
Nathan Smith (Jan. 14, 1761 lot No. 51, in the village of New Windsor, 
and at a later period, a farm of one hundred acres on the northeast cor- 
ner of the Chambers patent. He was especially active in local affair?, 
and was Chairman of the County Committee of Ulster in i775-'76, and 
of the Committe of Safety of his town. From 1779 to 1781 he was a 
Member of the Legislature. In 1775 he established a forge, near what 
is now Walsh's paper mills, for the manufacture of gun-barrels, bayonets 
etc., for which he had a contract from the Revolutionary authorities of 
the state. He was one of the founders of the Associate Reformed 
Church of Newburgh in 1798, and one of its incorporators in 1803. The 
property which he occupied for many years was in the vicinity of his 
mill, on the road leading from Newburgh to New Windsor, and has 
been known in later years as the Havemeyer place. He died October 
2g, 1804, aged 70 years. His father died February 15, 1786, aged 83 
years. Who his children were, besides Robert, Jr., has not been ascer- 
tained.* Robert, Jr. left two sons, Samuel and Nathaniel, and one daugh- 
ter, Janet. The latter married Doctor Baltus L. Van Kleeck, for many 
years an esteemed physician of Newburgli. The late Rev. R. B. Van 
Kleeck, of the Episcopal Church, was her son. 



♦Geortje Boyd, born 1788, died 1850, removed to Philadelphia, married Eliza- 
beth Livingston, — Colgate's American Ancestors. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i cq 



NATHAN SMITH. 

Few of the early settlers of the town were more active in its atlfairs 
than Nathan Smith.* The date of his settlement was as early as 1768. 
as liis name then appears in the list of town officers. It is said that he 
was born in the town of Huntingdon, L. I., and that his father was c 
Presbyterian minister, who left Eng-land on account of religious perse- 
cution, and who married a Miss Mowbray of Long- Island, by whom he 
bad two sons and two daughters, some of whose descendants are still 
living on the south side of Long Island. Nathan, his youngest son. 
married at Paramus, N. J., Susan Mcintosh, a daughter or grand-daugh- 
ter of Phineas Mcintosh, one of the early patent holders in New Wind- 
sor, upon whose patent he settled and where he established a fulling 
mill, a grist mill, and a store, giving to his place the title of Hunting- 
Grove. He continued his residence here until a year before his death, 
when he exchanged it for a farm two miles west of the then village of 
Newburgh. He was Supervisor of New Windsor from 1776 to 1780. 
and Member of the Committee of safety of the town. From 1777 to 
ti793 he was one of the representatives in the Assembly from Ulster 
County, with the exception of two terms. In 1793 he was appointed 
First Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, of Ulster County, and held 
that office at the time of his death. In September, 1798, he was in Nev/ 
York visiting Governor Clinton and friends, apparently in his usual 
health. On his way to the sloop on which he was to take passage for 
Newburgh, he was attacked by yellow fever and conveyed to the hospital, 
where he died. At the time of his death he was fifty-two years of age. 
He left seven children: i. Susan, married William W. Sackett, resided 
in New Windsor and Newburgh, but ultimately settled in Sullivan 
County; 2. Charles F., a lawyer, settled at Clyde, N. Y. ; 3. Augustus, 
a lawyer, died unmarried; 4. Mowbray, married and removed to south- 
ern Virofinia ; ^. Nathan, died unmarried; 6. Fell, died unmarried; 7. 



*There were two persons of this name in the town. The first Nathan was the 
purchaser from John Chambers, in 1758, of that portion cf the Chambers and 
Sutherland patent held by William Chambers, one of the patentees, and also part 
of the Ingoldsby patent and one half of lot No. i. of the German patent. In the 
deed to him he is described as a "blacksmith of Kingston." He was one of the 
proprietors of the Township of New Windsor, where he sold lot No. 51, to ••Rob- 
ert Boyd, blacksmith of the city of New York," January 14, 1761. He is not 
known to have been in any way connected with the person referred to in this 
sketch. 



i6o History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Elizabeth, married David Hunter,* and died in 1854. Her oldest son, 
C. F. Hunter, is now (1878) President of the People's Bank, of New 
York city. He has five children. A younger son, E. M. Hunter, U. S. 
Commissioner, at Milwaukee, Wis., died in 1877. Her daughters, Cor- 
nelia B. and Susan F., married (first and second) T. Van Wyck Brink- 
trhoff, of Hopewell, Dutdhess Co. Judge Smith is described as of fin? 
personal appearance, and mild and gentle disposition. He had a legal 
education, and was in every respect qualified for the official stations to 
which he was called, and was a trusted friend and supporter of New 
York's first governor, George CHnton. 



♦David Hunter was a widower when he married Miss Smith. His first wife 
was a daughter of Johannes Miller, of Montgomery, by whom he had two child- 
dreii. Emehne and Johannes M. Emeline married Ur. Samuel Dimmick. of Sullivan 
County, father of Samuel E. Dimmick of Newburgh. He was a son of James 
Hunter, and in his day was a man of considerable prominence. In company with 
Daniel Sloan he conducted a large lumber, grocery and mercantile business in 
BJoommgburgh. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i6i 



CHAPTER X 



CIVIL LIST, 



1763 — Joseph Belknap, Clerk; George Harris, Supervisor; Samuel Brewster, 
James Humphrey and George Denniston, Assessors; Alexander Denniston, 
Constable and Collector; Judah Harlow and Capt. James Clinton, Overseers 
of the Roads; David Crawford and John Nicoll, Overseers of the PoOr; An- 
drew Crawford and William Lawrence, Fence Viewers. Election at the home 
of Judah Harlow. 

1764— Joseph Belknap, Clerk; Isaac Hodge, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Joseph Bel- 
knap and David Humphrey, Assessors; Hezekiah White, Constable and Col- 
lector; Charles McCallister, Deputy Constable; Hezekiah White. Leonard Nic- 
oll, John Arthur and Silas Wood, Overseers of the Roads ; John Yelverton, 
and Robert Carscaden, Overseers of the Poor; Andrew Crawford and Will- 
iam Lawrence, Fence Viewers. Election at the house of Joseph Belknap, 
1764 to '68. 

1765 — Joseph Belknap, Clerk; Capt. James Clinton, Supervisor; John Nicoll, 
Joseph Belknap and David Humphrey, Assessors ; Edward Falls, Constable 
and Collector; Alexander Falls and Robert Buchanan, Security for Collector; 
Silas Wood, Overseer of the Roads ; Jonathan Parshal and Hezekiah White, 
Overseers of the Poor; Moses Fowler and John Nicholson, Fence Viewers. 

1766 — Joseph Belknap, Clerk; Isaac Nicoll, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Joseph Bel- 
knap, David Humphrey, Assessors ; William Edmonston, Constable and Col- 
lector; Moses Fowler, George Denniston, Thomas King, Francis Mandevillc, 
Overseers of the Roads; Moses Fowler and John Nicholson, Fence Viewers; 
John Monell and Robert Boyd, Overseers of the Poor. 

1767 — Joseph Belknap, Clerk; Isaac Nicoll, Supervisor; John Nicoll, David Hum- 
phrey, Joseph Belknap, Assessors; William Edmonston, Constable and Col- 
lector; Theophilus Corwin, Nathaniel Boyd, Overseers of the Poor; James 
Jackson, James Neely, John Nicholson, Overseers of Roads; John Nicholson, 
Isaac Nicoll, Fence Viewers. 

1768 — Joseph Belknap, Clerk; John Ellison, Supervisor; George Denniston, John 
Nicholson and Hezekiah White, Assessors ; William Edmonston, Constable 
and Collector; Arthur Beatty and Nathan Smith, Overseers of Poor; Roben 
Boyd, Joseph Belknap, James Jackson, Overseers of Roads ; Patrick Mc- 
Claughry and Judah Harlow, Fence Viewers. 

1769 — James Qinton, Clerk; John Ellison, Supervisor; George Denniston. John 
Nicholson, Hezekiah White. Assessors; Reuben Wee'd, Constable and Col- 
lector; Samuel Brewster and Samuel Sly, Overseers of the Poor; John Gal- 
loway, James Denniston, Theophilus Corwin, Samuel Arthur, Overseers of 
Roads; Judah Harlow and James Humphrey, Fence Viewers. Election at 
the house of Neal McArthur, 1769 to '85. 

1770 — James Clinton, Clerk; John Ellison, Supervisor; Hezekiah White, James 
Denniston, David Humphrey, Assessors; Nathan Smith, Constable and Col- 



1 62 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



lector; Judah Harlow and Timothy Mills, Overseers of the Poor; James Mc- 
Claughry, George Clinton and Patrick McClaughry, Commissioners of the 
Roads; Samuel Logan. William Edmonston, Alexander Falls, Samuel Sly, 
Overseers of Roads; Walter McMichael and Theophilus Corwin, Fence 
Viewers. 

I77i_James Clinton. Clerk, William Jackson, Supervisor; Hezekiah White, James 
Denniston, James McClaughry. Assessors; Nathan Smith. Collector and 
Constable; Leonard Nicoll. James Buchanan, Overseers of the Poor; James 
McClaughry, Patrick McClaughry, James Cl'nton, Commissioners of the 
Roads; Isaac Schultz, Edward Neely, Fence Viewers; James Jackson, Na- 
thaniel Liscounb. Alexander Falls. Jr., Samuel Sly, Overseers of the Poor. 

t772 — James Clinton, Clerk; John Ellison. Supervisor; John Nicoll, John Nichol- 
son and Joseph Belknap, Assessors; Nathan Smithy Constable and Collector; 
(Timothy Mills and Thos. Johnson his securities). David Holladay. John Gal- 
loway, Overseers of the Poor; George Denniston; James Faulkner, John 
Nicoll, Road Commissioners; Robert Boyd, Alexander Falls, Samuel Sly, 
William Edmonston. Francis Mandeville, Overseers of Roads ; James Dunlap, 
William Rider, Fence Viewers. 

1773 — James Clinton. Clerk; John Ellison, Supervisor; John Nicoll, John Nichol- 
son, Joseph Belknap, Assessors; George Coleman, Collector and Constable; 
Isaac Schultz and James Neely, Overseers of the Poor; Judah Harlow, Ed- 
ward Neely, Fence Viewers ; James Dunlap, Samuel Arthur, Leonard Nicoll. 
Thomas Belknap, Samuel Sly, Overseers of Roads. 

1774 — James Clinton. Clerk; John Ellison, Supervisor; John Nicholson. John 
Nicoll, Joseph Belknap, Assessors ; Robert Boyd, Robert Stewart, Overseers 
of the Poor; Theophilus Corwin. Archibald Beatty. Fence Viewers; Judah 
Harlow, Leonard Nicoll, Gilbert Peet, Isaac Belknap, James McClaughry, 
Samuel Sly, Overseers of Roads. 

1775 — James Clinton. Clerk; John Nicholson, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Josepn 
Belknap John Nicholson, Assessors; James Hays, Constable and Collector; 
Silas White, Henry MacNeely, Overseers of the Poor; David Halliday. John 
Beatty. Fence Viewers ; Isaac Schultz, John Dean, Benjamin Case, Silas 
Wood, James McClaughry, Nathaniel Boyd, Overseers of Roads. 
(^omnir'ttee of Safety — "At a meeting of ihe freeholders and inhabitants of the 
precinct of New Windsor, in the county of Ulster, this eighth day of May, 
1775. for the purpose of choosing a committee and signing an association for 
the more firm union of the inhabitants m pursuing measures for their com- 
mon safety — then proceeded to nom-nate and elect the following persons to be 
a Standing Committee until the next precinct meeting: Col. James Clinton, 
Capt. James McClaughry, John Nicoll. Esq., John Nicholson, Esq., Nathan 
Smith Esq.. Robert Boyd, Jr.. Samuel Brewster. Samuel Sly. Samuel Logan. 
"Col. James Clinton, Capt. James McClaughrA' and John NicoH, Esq., were 
named as delegates to represent the precinct in a convention to be held at the 
house of Mrs. Ann DuBois, Marlborough, to appoint delegates to the Provincial 
Convention at New York, May 25th." — Tozun Record. 

1776 — Robert Boyd, Jr.* Clerk; Nathan Smith, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Joseph 
Belknap, George Denniston, Assessors; James Hays, Constable for New 
Windsor; Thomas McDowell, Constable and Collecior; Francis Mandeville, 
Alexander Denniston, Overseers of the Poor; Judah Harlow, Robert Burnet, 
Fence Viewers; James Jackson, Sr., William Edmonston, Samuel Arthur, 
Silas Wood, Hugh Humphrey, Stephen King, Overseers of Roads. 

1777— Robert Boyd, Jr., Clerk; Nathan Smith, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Joseph 
Belknap, George Denniston, Asses.sors ; James Hays, Constable for New Wind- 
sor; Nathan Boyd, Constable and Collector; Gilbert Reet, John Waugh, Over- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 163 



seers of the Poor; John Gollow. Highwaymaster for New Windsor. William 
Edmonston for Goshen Road, Samuel Arthur for Murderer's Creek Road. 
Silas Wood for Silver Stream. Hugh Humphrey for Little Britain. Samuel 
Sly for Huntinjr Grove; James Jackson. Sr.. and Thomas Parshall, Fence 
Viewers; Samuel Brewster. Robert Boyd. Jr.. Nathan Smith. Hvigh Hum- 
phrey, George Denniston. John Xicoll. James McClaughry. Leonard D. Nicoll, 
Samuel Arthur. Committee of Safety. 

1778— Robert Boyd. Jr.. Clerk; Nathan Smith. Sujiervi.sor ; John Nicoll, Joseph 
Belknap. George Denniston. James Faulkner. James Kernochan. Assessors, 
James Hays. Constable; Nathaniel Garrison, Constable and Collector; 
Leonard D. Nicoll, James Burnet. Overseers of the Poor; Joshua Scars. 
Highwaymaster for New Windsor. Willinm Edmonston tor Goshen, David 
Mandeville for Creek. Silas Wood for Silver Stream. Hugh Humphrey for 
Little Britain, Samuel Sly for Hunting Grove. 

1779— Robert Boyd, Jr., Clerk; Nathan Smith, Supervisor; John Xicoll, Neal 
McArthur, William ScOtt, James Faulkner, John VVaugh, Assessors; 
James Hays, Constable; Archibald Beatty, Constable and Collector; 
John Nicoll, Nathan Smith, ALatthew DuBois, William Telford, Robert Boyd, 
Jr., Commissioners of Highways; Joshua Sears, Robert Burnet, Overseers 
of the Poor; Leonard D. Nicoll. Alex. Denniston, Fence Viewers; Hugh 
Turner. William Edmonston, David Mandevlle. Jacob Mills, Samuel Boyd, 
Samuel Sly, Highwaymasters. 

1780 — Robert Boyd, Jr., Clerk; Nathan Smith, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Neal 
McArthur, William Scott, James Faulkner; John Waugh, Assessors ; James 
Hays, Robert Cross, Constables ; Isaac Schultz, John Burnet, John Moffat, 
William Telford, Robert Boyd, Jr., Commissioners of Highways; David Man- 
deville, Stephen King, Overseers of the Poor; Jonas Williams. Edward Neely, 
Fence Viewers; Barualas Corwin, Highwaymaster for New Windsor, William 
Edmonston for Goshen Road, Vincent Helmes fOr Creek Road, Joseph Bel- 
knap for Silver Stream, Samuel Boyd, for Little Britain, Samuel Sly fo"- 
Hunting Grove. 

1781 — John L. Moffat, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Josepli 
Belknap, Jonathan Parshal. William Telford, Matthew Gillespie. Assessors; 
James Hays. .Mex. Kernochan. Constables; Isaac Schultz, Leonard D. Nicoll. 
James Kernochan, William Telford. John L. Moffat, Commissioners of High- 
ways ; Colvill Stewart, Moses Gale, Overseers of Poor ; James Latta, David 
Mandeville, John Ellison, Silas Wood, Thomas Palmer, Hugh Humphrey, 
William Sly, William Crawford, Highwaymasters, the latter for Stonelield- 

1782 — John L. Moffat, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; John Nicoll, Joseph 
Belknap, Edward Neely, Assessors ; James Hays, William Sly, Constables ; 
Isaac Schultz, Leonard D. Nicoll, Thomas Belknap, William Telford. John 
L. Moffat, Commissioners of Highways ; Thomas Belknap. Nathan Smith, 
Overseers of the Poor; Joshua Sayre, Vincent Helmes, William Edmonston, 
Isaac Belknap, David Parshal, Samuel Sly, Aletx. Denniston, Highway- 
masters ; Robert Johnson, Thomas McDowell, Fence Viewers. 

1783 — William Telford. Clerk; Matthew DuBois. Supervisor; Vincent Helmes 
Isaac DuBois, Constables ; John Nicoll. James Kernochan. Edward Neely, 
Assessors; Robert Boyd, Jr., Leonard D. Nicoll, Thomas Belknap. John 
Burnet, William Telford, Commissioners of Highways; William Ellison, 
Jonathan Parshal, Overseers of the Poor ; John Denniston, James Burnet, 
Fence Viewers. 

1784 — William Telford, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 
Samuel Boyd, Edward Neely, Assessors ; James Latta, Leonard D. Nicoll, 
George Denniston, James Clinton, John Burnet, Commissioners of Highways; 
John Ellison. William, Telford, Overseers of Poor. 



J 54. History of The Town of New Windsor. 

T^Rc— William Telford, Clerk; Matthew DuBois. Supervisor; Leonard D. NicoU, 
Tames Kernochan, Archibald Beatty Assessors; Samuel Logan, Joshua Sears, 
Wm am Scott, Thomas Belknap, Matthew Gillespie, Commissioners of High 
way rSi^as Wood, James DuBois, Constables; Samuel Brewster, Mills 
Caven, Overseers of the Poor. Election at the house of Isaac Belknap. 

1786-William Telford, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leoiiard D. Nicoll, 
Umes Kernochan, William Telford, Assessors; Jonas Williams, Samuel 
Boyle, Isaac Belknap, James Denniston, Abraham Neely, Commissioners of 
Highwavs; William Hunter, David Cook, Constables; John McConeley, 
George Denniston, Poormasters. Election at the house of William Hum- 
phrey, 1786 to '91. 
J787— William Telford, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 
James Kernochan, William Telford, Assessors; Jonas Wilhams,_ Samue. 
Boyd, James Hamilton, Alexander St-.wart. Robert Cross, Cnmmissioners of 
Highways; Daniel Gauthey, David Cook. Constables; John Ellison, James 
Denniston, Collectors ; Gideon Solomon, CoVin Stewart, Overseers of Poor. 

^788— William Telford, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll 
John Denniston, William Telford, Assessors; Jonas Williams. Samuel Boyd, 
James Hamilton, Archibald Beatty, Robert Boyd, Commissioners of High- 
ways- Silas Wood Jr., David Cook, Constables; William Denniston, Edward 
Neely, Collectors, Silas White, Jacob Mills, John Morrison, Poormasters. 

1789 William Telford. Cerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 

John Denniston, William Telford, Assessors. Jonas Williams, James Ker- 
nochan, Edward Neely, Commissioners of Highways; William Edmonston, 
John Morrison, Constables; Samuel Boyd, John Dill, Poormasters. 

xygo William Telford. Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 

John Denniston, William Telford, Assessors, John Gillespie, James Kernochan, 
William Watson, Commissioners of Highways; William Edmonston. David 
McNeely, John Morrison, Constables; James Thorn, David Dill, Poormasters. 

xygi — William Telford. Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 
John Denniston. William Telford, Assessors; John Gillespie, Francis Craw- 
ford, David Dill, Commissioners of Highways; Jonas Williams, John Mor- 
rison, Collector; John Morrison, David Clark, Constables; James Thorn, 
David Dill, Poormasters. 

1792 — Robert R- Burnet, Clerk; Matthew DuBois, Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 
John Denniston, Abraham Neely, Assessors ; Jonas Williams, John Morrison, 
Collectors ; David Clerk, John Morrison, Constables ; John Gillespie, Francis 
Crawford, David Dill, Commissioners of Highways ; Jonas Williams, John 
Morrison, Overseers of the Poor. Election at the house of David Clement, 
"being the usual place." In May folowing a special meeting was held "at 
the house of Sarah Hamilton, the usual place of town meetings." The house 
was built long before the Revolution, and was burned down a few years ago. 
Elections were held there from 1792 to 1816. 

1793 — Robert R. Burnet. Clerk; James Clinton, Supervisor; Jonas Williams, 
Francis Crawford, David Dill, Assessors; Leonard D. Nicoll. John Morrison, 
Jr., Collectors, David Clark, John Morrison, Jr., Constables; William Ellison, 
GeOrge Denniston. Nathan Smith, Commisioners of Highways ; Isaac Schultz, 
William W. Sackett, Overseers of the Poor. 

1794 — Robert R. Burnet, Clerk; James Clinton, Supervisor; Jonas Williams, 
Francis Crawford, David Dill, Assessors; James Thorn, Colvill Stewart, Col- 
lector. William Older, John Morrison, Jr., Constables; Joseph Morrell, Alex- 
ander Denniston, Archibald Beatty, Commissioners of Highways; Jacob 
Smith, Alex. Falls, Overseers of Poor. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i6- 

1795— Robert R- Burnet, Clerk; Francis Crawford, Supervisor; Leonard D. Xicoll, 
John Denniston, David Dill, Assessors; Vincent Helms, George Denniston] 
Collectors; John Scott. John Morrison, Jr., Constables; Asa Byram, Alex. 
Denniston, Archibald Beatty. Commissioners of Highways; John Scott. John 
Morrison, Jr., Overseers of Poor. 

1796 — Robert R. Burnet, Clerk; Francis Crawford. Supervisor; Leonard D. Nicoll, 
John Denniston, David Dill. Assessors; ohn D. Nicoll. John Scott. Collectors; 
John Morrison. Jr.. John Scott. Constables; William Elli.son. William Moffat, 
Archibald Beatty. Commissioners Highways; ohn Scott. John Arorrison. Jr., 
Overseers of the Poor. 

1797 — Robert R. Burnet. Clerk; Francis Crawford. Supervisor; William Beatty, 
Alexander Stewart, Leonard D. Nicoll. Assessors; William Ellison, William 
Falls, Collectors; Joshua Green, William Falls, Constables; Asa Byram, 
Samuel Moffat. Archibald Beatty. Commissioners of Highways; Samuel 
Logan, Joshua Green, William Telford, Overseers of Poor. 

1798 — Robert R. Burnet, Clerk; Francis Crawford, Supervisor; William Beatty. 
Alexander Stewart, Joseph Morrell, Assessors; Abraham Schultz. Samuel 
Finley, Collectors ; Joshua Green. George Johnston, Constables, Archibald 
Beatty, Samuel Moffat, Asa Byram, Commissioners of Highways; Leonard 
D. Nicoll, Joshua Green, Overseers of the Poor. 

1799 — Robert R. Burnet. Clerk; Francis Crawford, Supervisor; William Reatty, 
Alexander Stewart, Leonard D. Nicoll, Assessors; Daniel Borden. Benjamin 
Van Keuren, Collectors ; Joshua Green, John McMichacl. Constables ; Archi- 
bald Beatty. Samuel Moffat, Asa Byram, Commissioners of Highways; Isaac 
Schultz, Joshua Green, Overseers of the Poor. 

The Clerks and Supervisors from 1800 to 1885 have been as follows : 

Clerks — William Mulliner, 1800-23; Robert Burnet. 1823-24; William Mulliner, 
i824-'28; John S. Wear. i85Q-'6i ; William H. Weed. "i862-'63; James W. Cor- 
win, i864-'67; James L. Mapes, 1868; William S. Fulton. i869-'74; James 
L. Mapes, 1875 ; James W. Corwin, i876-'85. 

Supervisors — Francis Crawford, i8oo-'o3; Abraham Schultz. i8o4-'o6; Josepn 
Morrell, i8o7-'og; David Dill. i8io-'i2; Abraham Schultz. i8i3-'27; Joseph J. 
Houston, 1828; Charles Ludlow, i829-'32; Robert Sly, i833-'37; Walter Hal- 
sey, 1838; James Denniston. 1839: Robert Sly. !84o-'42; Samuel B. Sackett, 
1843; James R. Dickson. i844-'5o; Joseph B. Burnet. t85T-'54; Ehenezer 
Keeler, i835-'56; Thomas J. Fulton. i857-'5S: George A. Denniston i859-'62; 
Thomas J. Fulton, 1863; Georee A. Denniston. 1864: William R. Weed, 1865; 
Joseph B. Burnet, iS66-'67; William R. Weed. i868-'7o; Charles G. Corley, 
i87i-'75; William R. Weed. 1876; George McCartney, i877-'78; *Benjamin B. 
Odell 1879,; George McCartney, 1880; William R. Weed, 1881 ; George Mc- 
Cartney, 1882; Edward D. Pierson, 1883; Joseph A. Morrison, i884-'85. 



♦Resigned January, i88o- George McCartney elected for unexpired term. 



1 56 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



CHAPTER XI 



CI\IL WAR. 



The number of volunteers furnished by the Town during the Civil 
War was : 

Prior to July ist, 1863 129 

January and February, 1864 72 

August, 1864 • • • 24 

December Call, 1864 2 

227 

In the settlement with the State under the act to equalize bounties, 
the town was paid for an excess of sixty-nine years or twenty-three 
three-years'-men, $13,800; and for bounties for two men $1,200 — total 
—$15,000. 

The sum of $4,620 was raised by subscription for the payment of 
bounties in 1862, of which sum $300 unexpended v/as returned to th-^. 
subscribers. The town shared in the county bounty of 1863, but sub- 
sequently issued its own bonds for the payment of town bounties. Of 
the county bounty it paid in principal and interest $23,935.21, and the 
principal and interest of its town bonds amounted to $17,290.48.* The 
total payment for bounties, after deducting the $300 refunded and the 
$15,000 from the State, amounted to $30,545.69. The proportion of the 
State tax levied for all war purposes has not been ascertained. 

The following list of volunteers is compiled from county lists and 
credits of Senatorial Committee : 

Ackerman, Daniel, I24t'h Regiment. 

Areson, Stephen W., 9th N. Y. Regiment; enlisted August 30, 1862. 

Anthony, J. Newton, Mozart. 

Acker, James, 15th Cavalry; enlisted 1864. 

Ackert, William H., enlisted 1864. 

Anderson, George L., enlisted 1864. 

*The supervisor reported in 1870, that the total of town bonds issued was 
$21,044.05. The figures given alwve are the total of taxes ra'sed as per ratio 
table. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 1 67 

Boyd, Andrew M., Co. B, 124th Regiment; enlisted August 14, 1862. 
Missing in action June 6, 1864. 

Bennett, John W., 124th Regiment; enlisted August 8. 1862. Taken 
prisoner at Chancellorsville. Deserted while i)ar()lcfl iirisoner. 

Bennett, Garrett H.. 124th Regiment; enlisted August 2, 1862: 
Wounded at Gettyshurg. Died January 17. 1865 of pneumonia. 

Burns. John, r24th Regiment; enlisted August 22, 1862. 

Brock, Selah, 124th Regiment; euHsted August 26. 1862. Wounded at 
Gettysburg. Discharged February 2, 1864. 

Benjamin. John F., 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 2g. 1862. 

Benjamin. Samuel A.. 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 29, 1862. 

Burns, Matthew, 36th; enlisted September 1, 1862. 

Butler, John, i66th Regiment; enlisted 1862. 

Babcock, Theodore W., i66th Regiment; enlisted October 14. 1862. 

Brown, Charles, i68th Regiment; enlisted October 22, 1862. 

Beames. John. i68th Regiment; October 18, 1862. 

Brown, Josiah FL, 2d Cavalry. Sept. 24, 1862. 

Brundage, J. Howley, Mozart. 

Brown, John, 2d Cavalry. 

Burton, William, Mozart. 

Bowers, Harvey, Duryea's. 

Bradley, John, 56th Infantry. 

Bowen. George L. 7th Tnd. Battalion; enlisted October 1861. Dis- 
charged January, 1863. 

Brown, John. Berdan's S. S. 

Baird, Thomas, 2d Cavalry; enlisted 1862. 

Buckmaster, Robert M. 71st and Co. R. 9th Regiment. 

Bigger, Samuel, 15th Artiller}-, 1864. 

Bush. Joseph H., 15th Artillery; enlisted 1864. 

Burns, Martin. 15th .Vrtillery; enlisted 1864. 

Brown, Isaac \'. D., 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Bulkley. Frederick. 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Bowles, Willian; J., Colored; enlisted 1864. 

Balf, William C. enlisted 1864. Also 3d Regiment. Co. B., May 14, 
1861. 

Baird, Ira H., enlisted August, 1864. 

Chambers, John. Co. G., 124th Regiment; enlisted August 17, 1862. 
Died April 22, 1864. 

Cooper, Charles G., Co. G., 124th Regiment; enlisted .\ugust 18, 
1862. 



1 68 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Cressy, Charles T., Lieutenant, 124th Regiment A.; enlisted August 
18, 1862. Died of disease, January 14, 1864. 

Coleman, George W., 124th Regiment; enlisted August 23, 1862. 
Killed at Chancellorsville. 

Coldwell, William, 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 28, 1862. Dis- 
charged. 

Carr, Solomon, 124th Regiment; enlisted September 2, 1862. 

Carroll, Dennis, i68th Regiment; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Carr, David, i66th Regiment; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Call, Joel, i66th Regiment; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Conkling, Peter R., i66th Regiment ; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Conkling, Martin C, i66th; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Coleman, George S., i66th; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Cloyd, James C, 87th ; wounded at Fair Oaks, discharged. 

Cloyd, David C, Lieutenant, 87th. Resigned May 8, 1866. Died at 
New Windsor. 

Cypher, Henry L., 56th; enlisted October, 1861. 

Cook, Francis, i68th. 

Curtis, Robert, i68th. 

Craig, Robert C, i68th. 

Courter, David L., 87th; enlisted 1861. 

Casey, Joseph N., 124th; enlisted 1864. 

Casey, William, 124th; enlisted 1864. 

Conkling, Edward, 156th; enlisted 1864. 

Conkling Edward, 156th; enlisted January 19, 1864. 

Conkling, James, 156th; enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Cameron, William H., 2d Battalion; enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Cherry, Sylvanus B., enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Clearwater, William B., enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Crowse, William H., 7th Battalion, enlisted January 18, 1864. 

De Groat Nelson, 124th; enhsted August 22, 1862. Died at New 
Windsor. 

De Groat, Hiram W., i'24th; enlisted August 31, 1862; went to 93d. 

Davy, John James, 2nd Cavalry; enlisted August 26, 1862. 

Davy, George W., 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 29, 1862. 

Dickson, Francis, 124th Infantry; enlisted September 5, 1862; went 
to 93d. 

Downing, Charles, 124th E. ; enlisted September 2, 1862. Served 
full term. 

Davis, Charles, 2d Cavalry; enlisted October 7, 1862. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



169 



Dougherty, Robert, 2d Cavalry; enlisted October 6. 
Downs, James, 2d Cavalry; enlisted October 13, 1862. 
Duzenberry, Zenophen, 124th; enlisted August 22d, 1862. 
Dutcher, Timothy, Mozart; enlisted August 22, 1862. 
Doitline, John, i68th. 

Doitline, John, 98th Regiment; enlisted 1864; also in i68th. 
Doty, Ezra, 98th Regiment; enlisted 1864. 
Diamond, Charles, 20 Colored; enlisted in 1864. 
Derwin, Joseph S., 20th Colored; enlisted 1864. 
Decker, Garret, 124th; enlisted 1864. 
Davis, John, 80 Artillery; enlisted October 25, 1861. 
Edwards, Charles, Co. T, 124th Regiment; enlisted August 19, 1862. 
Killed at Gettysburg. 

Ensign, Charles A., Co. I., 124th Regiment; enlisted August 19, 
1862. 

Ellis, A. Van Home, Colonel, 124th Regiment; enlisted August 19, 
1862; also in 71st Regiment. Killed at Gettysburg. 
Ellsworth, Frank, 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 
Ennis, Michael, 7th Artillery; enlisted 1864. 
Fitzgibbons, Patrick, 7th Artillery; enlisted September 3, 1864. 

Fuller, Alex D., 7th Artillery; enlisLed September 3, 1861. 

Foot, Horatio, 47th Mass. Regiment. 

Faulkner, Matthew, 15th Artiller}^; enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Fuller, Alex. D., 63d Infantry; enlisted January 18, 1864; also in- 
7th Battalion, 1861. 

Fairchild, Andrew, 63d Infantry; enlisted January 18, 1864. 

Frohlick, Rudolph, enlisted 1864. 

Fulton, Charles, enlisted 1864. 

Gardner, Daniel S., 124th; enlisted August 20, 1862. Wounded, May 
3, 1863, and in hospital until December. Served full term. 

Glen, Edward, 124th; enlisted September 2, 1862. 

Gerow, Charles N., 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 29, 1862. 

Garrison, John W., i66th ; enlisted October 14, 1862. 

Garrison, David, i66th ; enlisted October 14, 1862. 

Goeklius, Isaac N., 124th A; enlisted August 8, 1862. Wounded 
slightly at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. 

Graham, William, 2d Cavalry. 

Gage, Eli, 87th K; October 3, 1861. 

Greeley, Cyrus D., 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Humphries, George H., enlisted 1864. ; ^ 



lyo History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Humphries, Joseph, 63d Regiment; enlisted 1864. 

Higgins, Benjamin F., 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 9, 1862. 

Hider, William H,, 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 24, 1862. 

Hovercamp, Jacob, i6th; enlisted October 14, 1862. 
Harris, George, 2d Cavalry. 

Hughs, John H., 56th ; enlisted 1864. 

Howe, Ira F., enlisted 1864. 

Howard, James E., 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Jennings, Daniel C. 124th; enlisted August 14, 1862. 

Jennings, Thomas. i66th; enlisted October 14, 1862. 

Jones, William, 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 24, 1862. 

Johnson George B., 2d Artillery; enlisted 1864. 

Johnson, Thomas, enlisted 1864. 

King, William H., 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 11, 1862. 

Kelly, Nathaniel. 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 24, 1862. 

Kirk, David, i68th Regiment. 

Kirk, Charles H., i68th Regiment. 

Krampf, Henry, 15th Artillery; enlisted 1864. 

Kane, Thomas D., 56th ; enlisted 1864. 

Kemp, James H., 7th Artillery; January 16, 1864. Mustered out 
July 31, 1865. 

Kirkwood, Andrew, 6th Cavalry; enlisted 1864. 

Kelly, Marcus, Colored; enHsted 1864. 

Leahy, Patrick, i68th; enlisted October 2^, 1862, 

Latham, Samuel D., 124th; enlisted August 18, 1862. 

La Fountain, John, 2d Cavalry ; enlisted August 14, 1862. 

Lent, Henry, 56th; enlisted 1861. 

Lent, James, 56th; enlisted 1861. 

Lynch, William, 15th Cavalry; enlisted 1864. 

Maxwell, Robert, 2d Cavalry. 

Morgan, George, 124th; enlisted September 2, 1862. 

Mabie, Jeremiah, i68th ; enlisted October 17, 1862. 

Manly, John, 2d Cavalry; enlisted October 22, 1862. 

Miller, Charles, 2d Cavalry; enlisted September 30, 1862. 

Malone, John, i68th. 

Morrow, Frank, 124th. 

Morton, George C, Lieutenant, 2d Cavalry. 

Morton Charles E., 2d Cavalry. 

McMahon, Francis, Co. G, 124th Regiment; enlisted September 3,. 
1862. Wounded at Jones' Cross-Roads. November 27, 1863. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i 71 

McCullough, Hamilton, 2d Cavalry. 
McCartney, John, i68th. 

Mclntyre, Martin V., Lieutenant, 7th L Battalion. 

Many, Mortimer, 36th. 

McMahon, Michael, 56th. 

Mahan, James, 20th Conn. 

Morrow, Stephen, 2d Cavalry. 

McCormick, Robert B., Co. B, 36th Reg-iment; enlisted June 17, 
1861. 2 years. 

Murphy, Martin V., 2d Met. Rifles; enlisted 1864. 

Matthews, James, 7t'h Battalion ; enlisted 1864. 

Mackay, Edward, 15th Cavalry; enlisted 1864. 

Milliken, James, 15th Artillery; enlisted 1864. 

McConnell, Andrew J., enlisted 1864. 

Murphy, John, enlisted 1864. 

Morehead, Samuel, 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Newell. Jacob, i66th Regiment; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Owen, William R., Co. C. 124th Regiment; enlisted August 14, 1862. 
Shot through breast at Spotsylvania. May 12, 1864; died of wounds. 
May 14, 1864. 

Oney, Edward. 124th Regiment; enlisted August 19, 1862. 

O'Hara, Daniel, 124th C; enlisted August 16, 1862. Wounded se- 
verely at Chancellorsville. Transferred to V. R. Corps, died of wounds 
October 28, 1863. 

Overton. John B.. 2d Met. Rifles; enlisted 1864. 

Oakley, William S., enlisted August, 1864. 

Parker, Charles H., 2d Cavalry; enlisted October 10, 1862. 

Pierce, Bowen, i66th ; enlisted October 7. 1862. 

Pike, George, 3d, N. Y. ; enlisted 1861. 

Pires, Wesley, 3d Alb.; enlisted i86t. 

Price, Arthur C, 56th; enlisted 1861. 

Pierce, Edmund A., i66th ; enlisted 1866. 

Post, Beverly, 7th Artillery; enlisted January 17, 1864. 

Pas'swater, Thomas E., 56t'h ; enlisted 1864. 

Quinn, Edward. 56th; enlisted 1861. 

Ryan, James, 124th; enlisted August 16, 1862. 

Robinson, John H., 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 26, 1862. 

Rodgers, Edgar, 2d Cavalry; enlisted August 10, 1862. 

Rake, Isaac, i68th; enlisted August 10, 1862. 

Root, George O., i66th; enlisted August 16, 1862. 



I 72 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Root, James, 87. 

Riley, Thomas, 87th Co. R. ; enlisted October 3, 1861. 

Roe, Edward R., 2d Cavalry; enlisted 1862. 

Roach, James, ist. Engineers'; enlisted 1864. 

Roselle, James, enlisted 1864. 

Reid, William, 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Simmons, Charles, enlisted August 24, 1862. Not on roll by that 
name. 

Stafford, John J., Co. E, 124th Regiment; enlisted August 21, 1862. 
Discharged March 23, 1863, at hospital. 

Stalter, Peter T., 124th E; enlisted August 27, 1862. Discharged at 
Washingtonville, November 3, 1862. 

Stalter, Abraham, 124th G; enlisLed August 14, 1862. Wounded at 
Chancellorsville. Transferred to Vet. Res. Corps. 

Shaw, Rodman, i66th; enlisted October 7, 1862. 

Smith, James H., Mozart; enlisted 1861. 

Smith, Abraham, 7th I. B. enlisted 1861. 

Seaman, Charles, 124th H; enlisted August 26, 1862; Killed at 
Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. 

Smith, William, i68th; enlisted 1862. 

Smith, John, i68th; enlisted 1862. 

Snell, David H., 87th; enlisted October 21, 1861. 

Schneider, Victor, 98th; enlisted 1864. 

Storms, William, enlisted 1864. 

Snyder, Alexander, enlisted 1864. 

Simons, Lymon N., enlisted 1864. 

Simons. Daniel J., enlisted 1864. 

Sagar, Morris, 63d ; enlisted 1864. 

Smith, John H., 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Sniffen, William, 56th; enlisted 1864. 

Tilton, James D.. 124th C; enlisted August 14, 1862. Supposed 
killed at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863. 

Tuttle, Abraham, 71st M; enlisted 1861. 

Topping, Jacob, Duryea's Z; enlisted 1861. 

Verplanck, William A., IJeutenant, 124th E; enlisted Aug. 19, 1862. 
Discharged September 15, 1863. 

Van Horn, Thomas, 26th U. S. Colored; enlisted 1864. 

Van Gordon, William R., 7th Battalion; enlisted 1864. 

Ward, George V,. r68th; enlisted October 7, 1862. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i n-i 



Wise, Albert, 124th C. Wounded at Chancellorsville, May 3, 1863; 
sick from June 7, to July 6, 1863. Mustered out with Regulars. 
Wilson, Robert, Jr., 7th Ind. B; enlisted October, 1861. 
Wood William B., i66th; enlisted October 7, 1862. 
Wilbert, Charles, 98th; enlisted 1864. 
Wilbert, Louis, 98th; enlisted 1864. 

Walton, John H., 15th Artillery; enlisted January 19, 1864. 
Youmans, George, 7th Artillery; enlisted 1864. 



PRINCIPALS AND SUBSTITUTES. 

September and August, 1864. 

Burnett, Charles F., principal, supplied Andrew Cohner, substitute, 
three years. 

Burnett, Robert R., principal, supplied Martin Holland, substitute. 
three years. 

Cooper, Shadrack V., principal, supplied James R. Conner, substitute, 
three years. 

Chandler, Daniel C, principal, supplied James Bennett, substitute, 
three years, 

Caldwell, John R., principal, supplied Robert Ellison, substitute, 
three years. 

Caldwell, John N., principal, supplied John Thew, substitute, three 
years. 

Caldwell, Charles, principal, supplied Robert Cox, substitute, three 
years. 

Denniston, William Y., principal, supplied Jacob Reeder, substitute, 
three years. 

Denniston, Luther, principal, supplied M. Vassler, substitute, three 

years. 

Fulton, Thomas J. Jr.. principal, supplied Thomas King, substitute. 

three years. 

Humphries, George C, principal, supplied Charles Schmidt, substi- 
tute, three years. 

Jones, John, principal, supplied John Lelan, substitute, three years. 

Jones, Charles, principal, supplied Peter O. Cranes, substitute, three 

years. 

Miller, James H., principal, .'"ipplied John Kelly, substitute, three 

years. 



174 



HisroRY OF The Town of New Windsor. 



Miller, James V. K., principal, supplied Jo'hn Grififin, substitute, three 
years. 

Oakley, Lucas, principal, supplied Francis Brown, substitute, three 
years. 

Scott, William F.. principal, supplied William Schroeder, substitute, 
three years. 

Smith, Charles, principal, supplied , three years. 

Terwilliger, Granville C, principal, supplied Isaac Schrompff, sub- 
stitute, three years. 

Van Cleft, Lewis A., principal, supplied John Peters, substitute, 
three years. 

Wals'h, John H., principal, supplied Horton ^Turray, substitute, 
three years. 

Wood, David F., principal, supplied Edward Lee, substitute, three 
years. 

Call of December 19, 1864. 

Derbyshire, John, principal, supplied Anton Mayee. substitute, three 
years. 

Upright, Benjamin, principal, supplied James ^^loffit, substitute, 
three years. 



SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

To promote enlistments in 1862, a subscription was raised, amount- 
ing to $4,620. The subscribers were : 



Philip Verplanck $ 500 

Erastus Ide 250 

J. DeWitt Walsh 250 

John D. Van Buren . 250 

E. B. Nicoll ................. 100 

B. Franklin Gark 250 

Thomas Morton 250 

Peter Roe ■ 100 

George A. Denniston 100 

Thomas J. Fulton 100 

Ezra R. Thompson 100 

Mary E. Miller . . 400 

Marie ATcKnight 200 

James Patton . 100 

Samuel L. Denniston ........ 100 

David C. Chandler 100 

Lewis Van Cleft . 100 

William H. Miller . 100 

Joseph B. Burnett 100 

Franklin Mulliner ,. . . 100 



'ranklin Mulliner, Jr. 100 

Alexander Elliott 100 

James Shaw loc 

John B. Kernochan ..••.•..... loO 

Mrs. Arietta NichoU 50 

John R. Caldwell 50 

Jam'es W. Morrison .....••... 25 

Francis vVygant 50 

George Arnott . • ■ 25 

D. C. Brown 10 

David Goldsmith 20 

Thomas Wiley 20 

William Maxwell 20 

William F. Scott ............ 50 

John Cromwell 10 

John D. Vail 23 

Alfred Denniston . 10 

Thomas Denniston 25 

John Buchanan 25 

William Couser to 



History of The Town of New Windsor. i jc 

Selah W. Strong 25 William F. Cooper 50 

Joseph Kelly 23 Daniel Moorcs ............... 25 

Gr. C. Terwilliger 25 Euclid Mulliner 50 

William R. Weed 10 Daniel A. Shuart 50 

Thomas Still 10 David D. C. Wood 10 

The money was expended through a committoe, composed of George 
A. Denniston, John B. Kernochan, John D. Van Buren and J. DeWict 
Walsh, the latter acting as treasurer. The sum of 4.320 was paid for 
bounties and incidental expenses, and $300 returned to the subscribers. 



APPENDIX 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



179 



Journal of the Voyage of Charles Clinton from Ireland to 

America, I 729. 



"A Journal of my voyage and Travels from the County of Longford 
in the Kingdom of Ireland to Pennsylvania, in America, A. D. 1729. 

"I took my Journey from The County of Longford, on I'Viday the 
9th day of May; came to Dublin ye 12th ditto. Entered on shipboard 
the ship called the George and Ann, ye i8th. Sett sail the 20th. 

"Came to anchor at Glanarm on the 24th, where Matthw. McClaughry 
and his wife and two of his family went on shoar and quit their voyage. 

"Set sail from Glenarm on ye 25th and came to anchor at Green 
Castle, in the Lough of Foyle, the 26th, where we stay'd till ye 29th; 
then sett sail in company with the John of Dublin, bound for New- 
castle in the same country. 

"Ditto. Came in sight of Loughsuly (Lough Swilly) ye 30th. Sail' J 
by Tory (Tory Island) and Horn-head. 

"On the 30th, at night, a strong wind arose, ye continued to ye first 
of June at evening which Loosened our Bowsprit with Hazard of our 
Masts. 

"June 2d we had a fair breeze for our westerly course. 

"On the 3d ditto my daughter Catharine and son James fell sick of 
the measles. 

"A strong gale of westerly wind continues to ye loth ditto. 

"James Wilson's child died ye 5th. 

"On the 7th met ye Mary from Pennsylvania from which she sail'd to 
us in 5 weeks and 5 days. 

"On the 8th ditto a child of James McDowel's died and was thrown 
overboard. 

"On the loth ye wind came to East and be South. 

"On ye nth changed more Easterly and continues fair and season- 
able. 

"On the 1 2th the wind blew North and be East, a fresh gale by 
vrhich we sail'd 40 leagues in 20 hours, and foimd we were in 49 degrees 
20 minutes North Latitude by observation. 



i8o 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



"The wind changed on ye 14th to ye South, and so continued to ye 
15th, being Sunday morning. One of ye S erv'ts on board belonging 
to one Gerald Cruise, thew himself over deck and was drowned. 

"On ye 15th ditto my daughter Mary, fell sick of ye measles. 

"A Serv't of Mr. Cruise's died on' ye 17th and was thrown over 
deck. The wind came to be S. and continued a violent fresh gale to the 
i8th. 

"The 19th and 20th we had a South be West wind; on the 21st being 
Sunday we had a perfect calm in Latt. 27 degrees, 30 minutes. 

"A Serv't of Mr, Cruise's died, on Monday a child of James Thomp- 
son's died. 

"On Tuesday ye 23d child of John Brook's died ; we had a fair wind 
on ye 22d. 23d then another child of James Thompson's died. 

"On the 28th a child of James Majore died and one of Robt. Frazer's. 

"We now have W : N : W : wind. 

"Tuesday ye ist of July a fair wind. 

"July ye 3d a child of John Brooks died. A child, a daughter of 
Will McCalihan's died. Ditto a dhild of John Brooks died. 

"July ye 5th came in sight of the Islands" of Corvo and Flores (Az- 
ores) which belongs to the Portugese. They lie in the Lattd. of 40 
degrees 09 minutes north and 32 \2.'>^ West Longitude. 

" A Child of James McDowel's died ye 7th. Ditto Robert Todd 
died. 

"A Return of the persons that died on board ye George and Ann: 



James Wilson's child. 

James McDowell's child. 

A servant of Mr. Cruise's. 

A.nother servant of his. 

Another servant of his. 

A child of James Thompson's. 

A child of John Brooks. 

A child of James Thompson's. 

A child of James Majore's. 

A ch'ld of Robert Frazer's. 

A child of Thomas Delap's. 

A servant of Cruise's. 

A child of John Beatty's. 

A child of John Brook's. 

A girl of Robert Frazer's. 

A child of Alexander Mitchell's. 

A son of James Majore's. 

Robert Todd. 

A son of James McDowel's. 

A servant of Cruise's. 

Another servant of Cruise's. 

A child of Walter Davis. 

John Darbie. 

Thomas. Cowan. 



John McCay. 

A son of Robert Frazer's- 

Another son of his. 

A son of Christiana Beatty,s. 

A brother of Will Hamilton's. 

Will Gray. 

My own daughter, Mary on 2d of 

August, at night. 
A child of James Majore's. 
A daughter of Widow Hamilton. 
Tames Majore's wife. 
Thomas Delap's wife. 
Alexander Mitchell. 
A child of James Thompson's. 
Walter Davis, his wife. 
Widow Hamilton. 
Robert Gray. 

A child of Widow Hamilton. 
Walter Davis. 
IJane Armstrong. 
A child of James Majore's. 
Another servant of Cruise's. 
William Gordon. 
Isabel McCutchan. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



8i 



My son James, on ye 28th of August, 
1729. at 7 in ye morning. 

A son of James Majore's. 

'A brother of Andrew McDowell's. 

Two daughters of James McDowell's. 

A daughter of Walter Davis's. 

Robert Frazer. 

Patt McCann, servant to Tho. 
Armstrong. 

Will Hamilton. 

,[ames Greer, servant to Alex. Mitch- 
ell. 

Widow Gordon's daughter. 

James Mondy died Thursday, nth 
of September. 

A servant of Mr. Cruise's. 

A son of James Beatty's. 

Fran. Nicholson. 

A sister of Andrew McDowell's. 

A daughter of John Beatty's. (See 
John Beatty aboye) 

fTwo of Mr. Cruise's men servants. 

Margarey Armstrong, (daughter of 
Thos. Armstrong. 

A servant of Mr. Cruise's. 

Two of John Beatty's children. 

fames Thompson's wife. 

James Brown. 

A daughter of James McDowell's. 



A daughter of Thos. Delap'j. 

A servant of Mr. Cruise's. 

A child of Widow Mitchell's. 

John Oliver's wife. 

James Majore's eldest daughter. 

John Crook, a sailor. 

Joseph Stafford. 

John McDowell. 

John Beatty. 

Andrew McDowell's sister. 

James Wilson's wife. 

Tames McDowell's wife. 

Sarah Hamilton, Will Hamilton's 
sister. 

Thos. Armstrong, died Monday ye 
29th of September. 

John Beatty's wife. 

Isabella Johnston. 

Edward Norris. 

Margaret McClaughry. 

Widow Frazcr's daughter. 

Andrew McDowell's brother. 

Joseph McClaughr>'. 

Mattw McClaughry. 

A young sister of Andrew McDowel 

Thorn Delap. and his daughter Cath- 
erine. 

James Barkly. 



'Discovered land on ye Continent of America ye 4th dav of October. 



1729. 



RECAPITULATION. 



Armstrong Captain Thomas — with his wife, Jane, and children, 
Margery and Jane, and servant, all of whom died on tlie voyage ex- 
cept Mrs. Jane Armstrong, who died at Little Britain in 1762. 

Armstrong, William — Settled in Warwick, where he died in 1805. 
He was but a boy when he came to America. 

Beatty, Christiana, widow Charles C. Beatty. Her son became a noted 
preacher. 

Beatty, John — himself, wife and five children died. 

Barkly, James — died. Family presumed to have settled in Mont- 
gomery or Crawford. 

Brooks, John — Two children of, died. (John Brooks settled in Little 
Britain. — now Hamptonburgli. 

Brown, James — died. 

Cowan, Thomas — died. 



1 82 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Clinton, Charles — with his wife, Elizabeth, and children, Catharine, 
James and Mary. The two latter died. Clinton settled at Little Brit- 
ain in 1730, where he became the father of General James, Governor 
George, Doctor Alexander and Doctor Charles — of whom Genercil 
James was the father of DeWitt. 

Denniston, Alexander and wife^ — the latter a daughter of George 
Little, a passenger on the same ship. Settled at Little Britain in 1730; 
ancestor of Hons. Robert and Goldsmith Denniston. 

Davis, Walter — himself, wife and two children died on the voyage. 

Darby, John — died. 

Dunlap, Thomas — himself, wife and three children died on the voy- 
age. 

Frazer, Robert — ^himself and five children, died. 

Gordon, William — himself and daughter, died. 

Gray, William and Robert, died. 

Greer, James, died. 

Hamilton, William — ^^himself, his sister Sarah and a brother, died. 
The brother (whose name is not given) left a wife and child who sub- 
sequently died. 

Johnston, Isabel — died. 

Little, George 

Majores, James — ^himself, wife and five children — died. 

Mondday, James — died. 

Mitchell, Alexander — ^himself and two of his children. 

McCalihan, William' — child, died. 

McCann, Patrick — died. 

McClaug^hry — Joseph, Matthew and Margaret, died on the voyage. 
A widow, Mary McClaughry, widow of William, with her children, set- 
tled in Little Britain in 173 1. The Journal states that "Matthew Mcl 
Gaughry, his wife and two of his family, went on shore at Glenarm. 
May 24th, and quit their voyage." Possibly he was the father anA 
grandfather. 

McCay, John — died. (Alex. McCay member Ellison's militia, 1738). 

McCutcheon, Isabel — died. 

McDowell, Andrew — two brothers and three sisters, died. He set- 
tled in Little Britain, where he was a member of Ellison's militia in 
1738. 

McDowell, James — wife and five children, died on the voyage. 

McDowell, John — died. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 183 



Nicholson, Francis — died. Family settled in Little Britain. Col. 
John Nicholson, of Montgomery, who served in the campaign against 
Canada, iyy$-6, was of this stock. 

Norris, Edward — died. 

Oliver, John — wife of, died. Settled at Little Britain. David Oli- 
ver was a member of Ellison's militia company in 1738. 

Stafford, Joseph — died, 

Thompson, James — wife and three children, died on the voyage. 

Todd, Robert — died. 

Wilson, James — wife and child of, died on the voyage. 

Young, John — Settled at Little Britain. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



A Genealogical and Biographical Sketch 



Written by Joseph Young, at the request of his niece, Barbara Hartell, uho 

wished to gain some knowledge of her progenitors and collateral 

kindred, as recolltcted in memory. 

Written m June, J 807. 



James Clinton, Esquire, who lived near Belfast, in the north of Ireland 
ihad a sister named Margaret; and one son named Qiarles, and two 
•daughters, viz : Christina and Mary. Margaret, the sister of James, was 
married to my great-grandfather, John Parks, and had a son named 
John (who was the grandfather of Arthur Parks), and two daughter'.. 
Jane and Barbara. About the year 1700, the whole connexion removed 
to the County of Longford, and lived nearly contiguous to each other 
near Edgeworthstown, where Jane Parks was married to my grand- 
father, John Young, and had a son named John, and a daughter, Mary ; 
-and my grand-aunt Barbara Parks (sister to Jane and daughter of Mar- 
■garet Clinton), was married to John Crawford,* and has three sons, viz: 
Matthew, Alexander and Joseph, and a daughter named Mary. After 
my grandfather John Young died, his widow (Jane) was married to 
Thomas Armstrong.** They lived in this vicinity (Edgeworthstown), un- 
til sometime in the year 1727 or 1728 the whole connexion growing more 
and more dissatisfied with the government, resolved to emigrate to the 
;then colony of New York; and as if bound together by the indissoluble 
ties of consanguinity and friendship, the greatest number of t^ose who 
"had emigrated from the north, with some additional members, engaged 
a ship at Dublin, commanded by a Captain Rymer, and all paid their 
passage money there, and had the ship bound to them for the faithful 
performance of their agreement. They laid in a sufficient stock of pro- 
vision? for an ordinary passage, but instead of a common passage he 
k<>pt them at sea :wenty-one weeks and three days. During the passage 

♦John Crawford purchased lands in New Windsor in 1738- He is presumed 
to have been son of James Crawford, and brother of James, 2d. 

**Jane, wife of Thomas Armstrong, died at Little Britain. February- 5th, 1761, 
aged 84 years. (Monument in Clinton burial grounds.) Thomas Armstrong, 
who was her second husband, died on the voyage to America. 



i86 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



they one moriTing came in full sight of the coast of Virginia, which the" 
boatswain, who was an old seaman, affirmed he knew perfectly well, as 
he had frequently been on that coast before ; but the captain called him 
a lying, skulking dog, and immediately ordered to put the ship about and 
put off to sea ; in consequence of this unequivocal disclosure of the Cap- 
tain's intention to famish them all to death at sea, William Armstrong 
(my father's half-brother) would have put him to death, had he not 
been forcibly restrained. Colonel Charles Clinton, who by his age and 
superior abilities, appears to have been the head or chief of the con- 
nexion, who had a better knowledge of the laws than the others, told 
them that unless the other officers belonging to the ship would join 
them, their rising forcibly against the captain would, upon trial, be ad- 
judged piracy. But the spirits of the officers were so completely sub- 
dued by the tyrannical conduct of the captain, who had killed a man on 
board by striking him on the head with a pipe-stave, that they dare 
not join the passengers against him. In this shocking dilemma the cap- 
tain exorted from them a very considerable sum of money, as a bribe for 
landing them on any part of the coast. Soon after tliis agreement he 
landed them at Cape Cod. 

For several days previous to their landing, their allowance had been 
a half biscuit and half a pint of water for twenty-four hours. In conse- 
quence of this cruel treatment many of the passengers died, and amongst 
this number who perished with famine, was Thos. Armstrong. He was a 
very valuable man. His son William and his daugliter Margery, shared 
ihe same fate. They arrived at Cape Cod in the fall and remained 
there until spring, and then sailed for New Windsor in Ulster County, 
M'here Colonel Charles Clinton, Alexander Denniston and my father. 
John Young, bought three farms adjoining each other and lived in the 
greatest friendship and harmony ; and called their neighborhood Little 
Britain. 

The Colonel's two sisters. Christina and Mary, lived some years con- 
tiguous to their brother and then removed to New York. Sometime in 
the year 1729 or '30 my father married his cousin. Mary Crawford, 
daughter of Barbara and sister to James Parks. By this means the 
descendants of John Young have derived a double portion of Clinton 
blood, from their grandmothers, which they prize much more than to 
have been related to the assuming family of Livingston. My father had 
four sons, to wit : Thomas, Joseph, John and Isaac, and three daugh ■ 
ters, viz: Jane, Mary and Barbara. Thomas was born the 19th of Feb- 
ruary, 173 1. He ex'hibited very early signs of a fertile genius, and sur- 



History of The Town of New Windsor. igr 

prising memory. Our grandmother, Jane, was a good English scholar 
and learned us to read, and by the time Thomas was six years old he 
could read any English book correctly and fluently. As there were but 
few children in their new settlement, they had no schoolmaster. But mv 
father, who was a tolerable arithmetician, undertook to teach him with 
the assistance of Cocker's Arithmetic. My father found little more nec- 
essary than to explain the reasons of each operation, in the first questions 
in each of the first rules, when he took up the business himself and went 
tiiroug'h the book without any further instructions. This uncommon 
rapid progress in the acquisition of useful knowledge, by a person so 
young, excited the admiration of many. Sometime after Mr. John Wil- 
son, a famous mathematician, opened a school about four miles distan^ 
to whidi the young self-taught student was sent. The neighbors vvh(> 
knew the strength of his genius, told the master that he would acquire 
great credit by teaching him ; but it appears that the genius of our young 
sti'dent was not confined to one track — he was extremely sprightly and 
playful and his invention quite equal to his other talents, which he did 
not fail to exercise in a pretty full school, by diverting the attention of the 
■■cliolars from their studies. The master called at the house of one who 
had said so much in praise Tommy's great genius, who asked him how 
Tommy improved? The master replied. "I have as yet suspended my 
■Judgment concerning him, but if his other talents are equal to his inven- 
tion of means to excite laughter and merriment, he is surely a most sur- 
prising lad." 

Tommy went on in his thoughtless career, until he one day chanced 
to displease a pompous young man. who had made considerable progress 
in figures, who insultingly told him. "since Providence has denied you 
the capacity or talents to acquire any useful knowledge, you should not 
interrupt those who have both the inclination and capacity to learn ; be- 
sides, I shall have a great estate to manage, which will require all the 
knowledge I can gain to manage it. and support my rank. Rut if you 
can g^in a knowledge of pounds, shillings and pence, it is all you will 
ever have occasion for." Tommy, viewing him with the most sovereign 
contempt, replied, "Sir. you talk very exultingly of your talents and ca- 
pacity ; but I will convince you before the end of six weeks I will be qua!- 
'ified to teach you. and from that period as long as you and I shall live." 
From that hour he quit his wild pranks and commenced the attentive 
student, and fairly verified his promise to the satisfaction and gratifica- 
tion of the whole school. Mr. Wilson's fame as a mathematical teacher 
soon procured him an invitation to open a school in New York, where 
he removed. 



1 88 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Thomas had from infancy an invincible propensity to the study of 
physic, and often declared to me, when we were very young, that if !<■ 
should be proposed by those who possessed the power to confer it, to 
make him Emperor of the whole earth, on condition that he would re- 
lingiiish the study of physic, he would spurn the proposal. But as he 
knew, a knowledge of the Languages would be a necessary acquirement, 
he now turned all his attention to effect this purpose. But as there was 
TiO Latin master in the place at that time, he resolved to learn it from 
books. He accordingly borrowed a Vocabulary and a Concordi from 
Co^l. Clinton, who observed that he would find it much more difficult to 
learn Latin without the help of a master, than to go through Cocker 
without assistance. He returned the books in about six weeks. The 
Colonel naturally concluded that Thomas had been convinced of the im- 
practicability of his design ; he, however, examined him to find out what 
progress he had made, and soon discovered that every word of both 
books were perfectly imprinted in the memory of his student. The 
Colonel laid by the books and told Tommy that he wished to see hi.s 
father on business. Our father soon waited on the Colonel, who told 
him that it would be almost criminal to let such a promising genius sinl: 
in obscurity for want of an education that could be so easily acquired, and 
added : "I am going to New York and if you wish to give him the mean? 
of improvement, in any degree adequate to tlie merit of his uncommon 
dihgence and surprising talents, if you will give me the money I wil! 
bring him a set of the Classics; and after he has perused them sufiic- 
iftntlv, I am confident that, by the assistance of a good tutor, for a few 
months, will give him a good knowledge of the Latin language." The 
plan was executed and wihen the young student got his books he retired 
every fair day to a pleasant arbor, composed of young trees interwoven 
with grape vines so as to render it impervious to the rays of the sun, and 
was rarely seen except at meal time. But the effect of such intense ap- 
plication became so visible in his conduct that his parents were alarmed 
with apprehension, that if he could not be immediately diverted from hi', 
studies, his mental faculties mig'ht be much injured. Matters were s."> 
arranged that one of tihe Colonel's sons called and coaxed him to go 
home with him, Where they would have a variety of books to read ; but 
matters were so contrived that the key of the Colonel's library was mis- 
laid and could not be found. He remained in this friendly asylum until 
he resumed his dheerful sprig'htly humor. This happened in the golden 
age, when friendship was a reality and not an empty name. He assumed 
his studies again with more prudence and much better success, for now 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 189 



everything which he learned was indelibly impressed in his memory, 
and from this period I do candidly believe that he never forgot anything, 
unless past the power of recollection, that was worth retaining. Afte' 
he had obtained a very considerable knowledge of his grammar and 
lather Latin authors, there fortunately came a minister to the parish, who 
was a good linguist, under whom he completed his Latin education. And 
I have reason to believe that although he was not a complete Grecian 
scholar, he knew the radical meaning of every technical term in the 
arts and sciences that has been borrowed from that language. He had 
gained a tolerable knowledge of the High Dutch language, by reading 
their books, Which he completed during his medical apprenticeship with 
Doctor John Kitterman. He could read and understand the French 
language, but never attempted to converse in it, as he was unacquainted 
with its pronunciation. But as the study of physic was always his darl- 
ing pursuit, his books on that favorite subject still made one of the se- 
lerfed number. He was indefatigable in the study of Botany, and at a very 
early period in life, he was acquainted with almost all the indigenous 
plants in our part of the country and their virtues. 

With these preparatory qualifications he commenced his apprentice- 
ship, probably about the age of 17, and remained about two years, but 
before the expiration of that time, many of the patients reposed more 
confidence in the skill of the apprentice, than in that of the tutor (Dr. 
Kitterman). During this period he gained a facility of conversing in 
both High and Low Dutch. He then took lodgings at the house of Cap- 
tain Winogar, in Sharon, Conn., and soon acquired fame and «. 

very extensive practice, being frequently called to remote parts in Con- 
necticut, Massachusetts and New York. * * * As his j^ractice in the 
country was very extensive and fatiguing, I urged him to remove to 
some popular city, w'here the toil would be less and the profits greater. 
He at length consented and resolved to remove to Abany. as he and a 
number of wealthy men were agreeing with Colonel John Henry Lydius. 
of the city of Albany for several townships of land of six miles square, 
w^hich lie in the now State of Vermont. But the great land-jobbers in 
New York, by endeavoring to defeat Lydius' title, that they might share 
in the profits, retarded the settlement of the country, and by their eager- 
ness to grasp the shadow (they lost the substance). 

We removed to Albany in October, 1764. Doctor Young displayed 
the strength and power of his mind to very great advantage in combating 
the great lawyers, in defense of Colonel Lydius' title, but as the history 
would be too lengthly I must omit it. But when the Stamp .A.ct was 



loo History of The Town of New Windsor. 



passed he exerted himself strenuously to oppose it, and when the Stamps 
arrived, he was one of a small number who visited the Stamp Officer 
and caused him to resign. In the fall of 1766 he resolved to remove 
to Boston, where the energies of numbers of American patriots were in 
full operation. When he arrived, he soon became an active member of 
the patriotic band, and was honored by the Tories and British by being 
classed by them among the number of the anti-rebels, to wit: John Han- 
cock, Samuel Adams, the great and truly excellent Doctor Warren, etc., 
etc. Doctor Young, by his great activity and strenuous exertions to 
counteract the nefarious designs of the British, had excited their indig- 
nation to sudh a degree that two of their officers attacked him one night 
in the street. They knocked him down and probably supposing they 
had killed him, ran off. He was carried home to his family all bloody. 
When he recovered he said he sfhould certainly have been killed, but as 
he had seen the blow coming he had moved his head to one side ; the 
v.'eapon in consequence had brushed down his temple, and spent its chief 
force on his soulder. But this atrocious attempt to assassinate him had 
alarmed his wife to such a degree that when he went out at night she 
frequently cried until he returned. His friends, in consequence, advised 
him to remove to Newport, Rhode Island, until some favorable change 
took place. He accordingly removed there, and remained until the 
British concerted their design to seize those who they called the ring- 
leaders of the rebellion and send them in irons to England. But as ir 
would be necessary to seize them all at one time, a particular day was 
appointed and Wallace of the Rose man-of-war, was deputed to go to 
Newport and seize Doctor Young, but lest he should have a long pass- 
age, I think they allowed him three or four days. He, however, had 
a very short passage and had time to concert plans with the Tories an-l 
watch the Doctor until the arrival of the appointed day. Intelligence 
of the intent against his liberty was gained by Doctor Young by mean- 
of a sewing girl, who had frequerutely been employed in his family, but 
was now employed in. a Tory family. She overheard them whispering 
and learned that the Doctor was to be taken prisoner that nig^t. She 
hid her thread to make an errand to go out to get more. She went di- 
rectly to a merchant, who sihe knew to be a great friend of the Doctor, 
ond told him what she had heard. He set ofif to go the Doctor, but 
met him by the way, and told him if he was not ofif the Island before 
midnight he would be a prisoner on board of the Rose man-of-war. The 
Doctor replied, "What will become of my family?" The generous mer- 
chant told him not to concern himself about his family. "You must go 



History of The Town of New Windsor. iqi 

off immediately to Philadelphia; I will take care of them and send them 
to you by water" — which he performed most faithfully without charg- 
mg the Doctor one farthing. He told him there were spies watching 
his motions, but that he should come to his house after it began to grow 
dark; that he would equip him and have him sent off the Island. The 
Doctor thanked him for his kindness. When he returned home he 
found two young ladies from a Tory family there who had never visited 
liim before. He was at no loss to guess the cause of such a friendly 
visit, but assumed a very spriglitly air, took his violin and played a num- 
ber of tunes ; then took his oldest daughter into another room pretend- 
ing to want her assistance to prepare some medicine. He then told her 
that he had a secret to communicate to her, if she would promise to 
keep it in\^olate, even from her mother, which she promised; he then 
told her the whole, and exhorted her by all means to appear cheerful. 
.He then caused her to pack up some shirts and put the bundle out of a 
back window. Fortunately about dusk, a messenger called on him to 
visit a patient at some little distance. He told the messenger to return 
and that he would set off in a few minutes. The messenger returned, 
and \Vhen it grew dark the Doctor went to his friend, who equipped him 
m a complete sailor's dress. Our new made Jack Tar took up his 
bundle, embarked on board of a boat, and his brother sailors soon landed 
him on terra firma. He pushed on and soon met his brother fugitives. 
John Hancock and Samuel Adams in Philadelphia ; and soon after had 
the felicity to receive his family from on board of one of his benefactor's 
vessels. 

The fugitives hired a house in Philadelphia and fell into some pri- 
vate practice until the General Hospital was established, when he was 
appointed a senior physician, and with the celebrated Doctor Rush, had 
the chief care of the Hospital until his death. He died in June, 1777, of 
a most virulent putrid fever; w'hich appeared to be almost as fatal a<5 
the plague. His very valuable library, which he had collected with 
great care and cost, was sold for Continental money, and was in a great 
measure lost to his family. These are a few of the incidents which oc- 
curred in the Hfe of a man of superior talents, and, as far as I am ca- 
pable of judging, of the most consummate physician I ever knew. He 
married Mary, the daughter of Captain Winegar, of Sharon, Conn., by 
whom he had two sons, viz: John and Rosmond, and four daughters, 
viz: Susannah, Catharine, Sarah and Mary. Rosmond died young. 
Susan was married to a Mr. Knies, of Philadelphia, and had two sons, 
Thomas and John. She died about 1803 or '4; her sons, Thomas and 



102 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



John, removed to the westward of Albany, and their grandmother, Mary 
V^oung, lives with them. John Young, the only surviving son of Doctor 
Thomas, studied physic under his father and was a Mate, in the Hos- 
pital, until his father died, and was then sent to the Hospital, at Albany, 
io be under my care. After the conclusion of the war he practiced in 
Fayette County, Pennsylvania, but removed to Hendersonville, Tennes- 
see, where he was killed by a fall from his horse, in November, 1805. 
He married Mary Hammond, at Fayette, by whom he had four child- 
ren, viz : Mary, Thomas, William and Sarah. Catharine, the second 
daughter of Doctor Thomas, was married to Mr. Daniel Castle, wlio re- 
moved to near Canandaigua Lake, where she died, but I do not know 
how many children she left. Sarah was married to Mr. Clark, at Sharon 
or Amenia; and Mary was married to a Doctor Strong, but I know 
nothing of their children. 

Joseph, the second son of John Young, was bom on the seventh da/ 
of February, 1733. He had an equal desire to acquire useful knowledge, 
but was neither blessed with that penetrative conception, which seemed 
to border on intuition, nor that admirable relentive memory, which gave 
'his brother Thomas such superior advantages ; but he endeavored to 
compensate for the defect by accurate observations and attentive appli- 
cation, aiming in all his pursuits at the investigation of first principles, 
and cautiously reasoning from these to form conclusions founded on 
the intrinsic nature of the subject, strictly following the example of the 
celebrated Alexander Pope, to reason truly from what he knew — that is 
to say, from well known facts or axiom that cannot deceive or mis- 
lead the cautious inquirer, as he was convinced at a very early period, 
that the neglect of this rule was the prolific source of endless errop, 
which no branch of science has escaped, either moral or physical, un- 
less we may except the mathematics. He had, like his brother, an ar- 
dent desire to gain a knowledge of physic, and improved every oppor- 
tunity in his power for that purpose, in which he was greatly assisted 
by Doctor Alexander Clinton, not as a professed student, but by riding 
with him and receiving oral instructions. He remained with his father 
until Doctor Clinton died, and then went and studied with his brother 
Thomas until 1765, and when Thomas removed to Boston, he remained 
»*■• private practice in Albany until the Spring of 1776, when he was ap- 
pointed by order of General Montgomery, to establish and superintend 
a hospital for the reception of the sick of the Continental Army. As 
our troops occupied Ticonderoga and Crown Point, there was a Hos- 
pital opened at Lake George, under the superintendence of Doctor S. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. m^ 



Stringer, and as the enemy were encroaching, General Schuyler con- 
cluded to send all the sick down to the Hospital at Albany, and ordered 
Doctor Stringer to send Doctor Young immediate notice that he might 
have time to prepare for their reception. Doctor Stringer probably 
wishing that Doctor Young might be embarrassed, omitted to send him 
any notice of the intended removal of the sick. General Schuyler, 
knowing Doctor Stringer's disposition, feared a calamitous result, and 
to prevent it sent his Aide-de-camp, John Lansing, Jr., to Albany to 
inquire if his order had been communicated to Doctor Young. Finding 
that it had not, Lieutenant Lansing reported to General Schuyler, and 
Doctor Stringer was soon cashiered. Doctor Young immediately em- 
ployed carpenters who wrought like beavers and soon furnished every 
room with bunks. The sick soon came crowding down, and as there had 
not yet been a clerk appointed. Doctor Young had to enter their names, 
companies and regiments, to write orders for their provisions and pre- 
scribe for them; but the sick exulted greatly in the change of their con- 
dition. In 1776, Congress appointed Doctor Jonathan Polts to super- 
intend a Hospital in the Canada department, but as our people were 
obliged to retreat, Polts came down to Albany and assumed the direc- 
tion there, and commissioned some persons as prescribing physician.-., 
who were scarcely qualified to be Mates. The Juniors and Mates, in 
derision called them Celestials. They, however, were not very trouble- 
some about the Hospital; their chief amusement being to dance atten- 
dance at headquarters and visit some officers, who were at lodgings iu 
the town. Everything went on cordially until sometime late in the year 
1780, when Congress made a new arrangement in the General Hospital, 
when many of those who attended least to their duty and attended most 
to their own interest, made personal application, or by their influential 
friends, and were retained in service, while Doctor Young, who had and 
was faithfully performing his duty, was by Doctor Shippen, left out of 
employment. Doctor Young and some of his friends immediately wrote 
to Congress the facts and the Doctor was immediately reinstated, Doctor 
John Cochran appointed Director, and the indolent Shippen removed. 
Doctor Young remained in charge of the Hospitnl at Albany until May 
4th, 1784, when he sent off the few remaining invalids to be attended 
by a Mate in New York. He then removed to and practiced in New 
York until the fall of the year, 1797. He married in the fall of the 
year, 1762, Sarah, daughter of Mr. Samuel Brown, of Colchester, Conn., 
a most amiable, placid, benevolent woman, who died without issue in 
the month of November, 1768, and was buried in a vault under the 



194 History of The Town or New Windsor. 



Presbyterian 'meeting house, in Albany, much lamented by her husband 
and friends. 

John and Jane, son and daughter of John Young, died young, and 
Mary was married to Mr. Samuel King, and had three sons, viz: 
Thomas, John and Samuel,* and four daughters, viz : Anna, S'arah, 
Mary and Rhody. Anna was married to Nicholas King and lives in 
the township of Galen ; Sarah was m'arried to Isaac Mills ; Mary to 
David Godfrey, and Rhody to Elijah Tucker. Messrs. Mills, Godfrey 
and Tucker are dead, and I have no knowledge of their children. 

My sister Barbara, was married to Matthew Neely (son of Robert, 
who married Isabella, sister to Adam Graham). She died soon after 
she was delivered of her only child, Barbara Amelia, the wife of Thomas 
Herttell, Esq. 

Isaac, my brother, married Esther Wolcott in the state of Rhode 
Island, who died after having a son William and three daughters, viz : 
Sarah, married to Cornelius Tiebout, an eminent copperplate engraver, 
now in Philadelphia. She has two children, Joseph and Caroline. Isaac 
married a second wife, viz : Susannah Roos, of Fayette County, by 
whom he had seven children, viz : Robert, Nancy, Isaac, Effy, Nelly, 
Joseph and Jane, who all live in Kentucky, except Isaac, who is In 
partnership with his brother William at or near Uniontown, Pennsyl- 
vania. My brother Isaac came to New York on a visit in the sum- 
mer of 1795, and died of yellow fever and was buried in Potter's Field. 

My aunt, Mary Young, my father's sister, was married to John 
Brooks and had two daughters, viz : Jane and Mary. Jane was mar- 
ried to Doctor Isaac Vanheren Caspel, but herself and two children, 
which she had are dead. Mary, her sister, married Paul Blouck and 
left several children, who live in this city (New York). My uncle, 
Joseph Crawford, married Catharine Nelson, at Rhinebeck, and re- 
moved to Curriesbush, near Schenectady. He left several children, viz : 
Leah, John, Alexander and Lucretia ; the names of the others I do not 
remember. 

My father, John Young, died in 1784, aged 82 years. 

Colonel Charles Clinton, nephew to my great grandmother Mar- 
garet, possessed an acute genius, a penetrating solid judgment, an ex- 
tensive fund of useful as well as ornamental knowledge, with the affa- 
bility and polished manners of a polite gentleman. He was a tall, 
straight, graceful person, of a majestic appearance. If he chanced to 



*In another place Dr. Young states that Thomas King married Pamelia Tracey, 
John King married Eliza Godfrey and Samuel King married Nancy Montanie. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



195 



come into company where a number of young people were cheerfully di- 
verting themselves, their first impressions were those of awe and rever- 
ence; but in the course of a few minutes he would enter into the most 
pleasing, and frequently instructive conversation, which soon dis- 
pelled their pa'nic. and inspired them with pleasing and respectful confi- 
dence. He was a Judge of the County Court, and Justice of the Peace 
until he died ; and a Colonel in the Army in the war, which commenced 
in the year 1756. He married Elizabeth Denniston, sister to Alexander, 
by whom he had one daughter, Catharine, a sensible, friendly, ingeniou.^. 
placid being, who was married to Colonel James McClaughry, as brav? 
an officer as America could boast of, she died without issue. Colonel Clin- 
ton and his wife, also four sons, viz : Alexander, Charles, James and George. 
After Alexander had acquired an excellent school education, he remained 
six years in College at Newark, when Mr. liurr was President; he then 
studied physic under Dr. Middletown, in Xew York, which he afterwards 
practiced in Ulster County and parts adjacent ; witii great success and rep- 
utation. He excelled in everything to which he turned his attention ; he 
was a good classic scholar, a great physician, a considerable poet, an ex- 
cellent musidan, and understood the use of the broadsword in a superior 
degree ; but what finished and gave lustre to a truly great character was, 
that he was a most placid, agreeable, benevolent, friendly being, be- 
loved and highly respected by every person who knew him ; and I shail 
ever remember with pleasure and gratitude the attention and friendship 
with which he honored me. He married Miss ]\Iaria Kane, but dieil 
soon after of the confluent smallpox, greatly and very generally l-i- 
mented ; his memory is dear to many at this day, and to none more than 
to Joseph Young. 

Charles, the second son. was a very sprig-htly lad, and had a good 
education. He also studied physic under Doctor Middletown, and em- 
barked as a physician in the expedition against the Havana, and was 
much esteemed by the celebrated Doctor Huck. When he returned he 
practiced medicine with success and reputation in Ulster County and 
parts adjacent, and died a bachelor, of a lingering consumption. James, 
like David of old. had been a warrior from his youth up. .\ftcr he ha(l 
obtained a good education, he enlisted a company and served with repu- 
tation as a captain in the war. which commenced in 1736. He was a 
general in the Continental army, and signalized himself in endeavoring 
to defend a redoubt on the west bank of the North River, that was 
honored by the name of Fort Montgomery. When it became almost cer- 
tain that thev wotild finallv be obliged to submit to superior numbers. 



I ^6 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

General James tried to persuade his brother George to leave the redoubt, 
alleging it would be a greater injury to our cause to have the Governor 
cf the State taken prisoner, than if he should fall into their hands. They, 
however, both remained until it grew dark, and were mixed with the 
enemy; the Governor escaped in a boat to the east side of the river, and 
James slid down the very steep bank of a creek* which ran near the re- 
doubt, and fell into the top of a hemlock tree, and made his escape by 
going up the bed of the brook, in which there was but little water at 
that time. When the enemy rushed into the redoubt, Colonel Mc- 
Claughry and a Mr. James Humphrey,** the cock of whose gun had 
been shot off, turned back to back and defended themselves desperately : 
they were assailed on all sides, and would undoubtedly have been killed, 
but a British Senator, who witnessed their spirit and bravery, exclaimed 
that it would be a pity to kill such brave men; they then rushed on and 
seized them, and when the Colonel was brought to the British General 
Clinton, he asked him where his friend George was? The Colonel re- 
plied, "Thank God, he is safe beyond the reach of your friendship." Gen- 
eral James married an amiable woman, of the name of DeWitt, by whom 
he had four sons, viz : Alexander, DeWitt, Charles and George, Alexan- 
der was a youth of a very promising genius, but when he was — years 
old he was drowned in crossing the river from the city to Hoboken or 
Bull's Ferry. After DeWitt acquired a good education, he studied law 
under Samuel Jones, and being a firm, undeviating, inflexible patriot and a 
man of superior talents, he was soon honored with a seat in the Assem- 
bly of the State and has been a Senator in Congress, where he did honor 
to himself and to his State. In i8oi he was apointed to be Mayor of 
the c'ty of New York, which ofifice he executed with ability and integrity, 
until the winter of 1807, when he was displaced by Gov. Lewis and his 
nefarious Council, and Colonel Marinus Willett, an old doating super- 
annuated Burrite, substituted in his stead. But he is yet State Senator, 
and is nominated as a Republican candidate for the next four years. He 
married Maria Franklin, a daughter of Mr. Walter Franklin, an eminent 
merchant in this city (New York). Charles married Miss Elizabeth 
Mulliner, of Little Britain and now lives at Newburgh. I have been told 
that he is a valuable man and an expert surveyor of land. George studieil 
law under his brother DeWitt, and being a man of capacity, he was 
honored with a seat m the State Assembly 1804, and in 1805, 1806 and 



♦Poplopen's Kill a stream flowing between Forts Clinton and Montgomery. 
**Humphrey wis the brother-in-law of Col. McClaughry. 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



'97 



1807, has been a Member of Congress. He married .Miss Hannah Frank- 
lin, sister to Mrs. Maria CHnton. 

George, the youngest son of Colonel Charles Clinton, was placed 
when very young under the tuition of Mr. Daniel Thame, a gentleman 
who had acquired a liberal education in the college of Edinburgh. The 
activity and strength of tiie intellectual faculties of the young student 
became very perceptible at an early period, which caused him to be 
caressed by all his friends. After having acquired an excellent school 
education under several eminent tutors, he served either one or two cam- 
paigns as a Heutenant under his brother James. And then studied the 
law under the direction of William Smith, Esquire, which he practiced 
in Ulster County with ability and integrity. He had previously been ap- 
pointed Clerk of this County, by Governor George Clinton. 

When the troubles commenced between Britain and America, 
he was elected a ]\Iember of the Legislature, where he signalized 
himself in combating and defeating the nefarious schemes of the Tories. 

He was appointed a General in the Continental Army, in the year , 

and when the State Constitution was formed he was unanimously 
chosen Governor of the State, and was successively re-elected to that 
most important office, in times that tried men's courage, ability and prin- 
ciples, until the year 1795, when, having greatly injured his health by his 
long and faithful service, he wished for a respite from public business ; 
the consequence of which was that John Jay, Esquire, was chosen 10 
succeed him. In the Spring of 1801, he was reinstated in the chair, 
which he had filled for eighteen years, with so much honor to himself 
iind great advantage to the State and to the Union. Soon after he had 
declined a re-election in 1804, he was nominated for \'icc- 
President of the United States, and elected without opposition, which 
station he now deservedly enjoys. He married Miss Catherine Tap- 
pen, in Kingston, Ulster County, of an ingenious, friendly, placid dis- 
position, by whom he had one son named, George Washington, and five 
daughters, viz: Catharine, married Pierre Van Courtlandt, Esquire; Cor- 
nelia, married Monsieur Genet, formerly Embassador from the French 
Republic to the United States; EHza, married Mathias B. Tallmadge ; 
Maria . 

Christina Clinton, sister of the Colonel,* was married to a Mr. John 
Beatty, (in Ireland), and had a son, Charles, who was a celebrate.! 
Presbyterian clergyman. He married in Jersey, and had son-; 
that were officers in the Continental Army. She had also two daughters, 



*Col. Charles, the progenitor of the family. 



1^8 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

Martha and Mary. Martha was married in New York to , 

and Mary to Mr. Robert Gregg, and had three sons, viz ; John, Charle>; 
and James, and one daughter, Jane. John was a youth of the most 
promising talents, and was supposed to be the best scribe on the con- 
tinent. He was Secretary to Governor Belcher, of New Jersey ; he died 
young. Charles was also a promising lad, but he also died young. 
James served with reputation as a Captain in the Continenital Army, and 
died a bachelor. Jane was married to Stuart Wilson and had one son, 
George, and one daughter. They live about i6 miles from Schenectady, 
on the place which formerly belonged to Colonel Daniel Claus. 

Mary Clinton, sister to Christiana, was married to Mr. Condy, and 
had one daughter Ann, commonly called Nancy, who was married to Mr. 
William Taylor, by whom he had one son, John, who is a man of emi- 
nent abilities, and an undeviating, inflexible patriot. He lived at Lake 
George until the commencement of the late war with Britain, when he 
removed to the city of Albany, and was soon chosen a member of the 
General Committee, where he distinguished himself in detecting and de- 
feating the nefarious schemes of the Tories, and some half-way patriots. 
Since the termination of the war he has, by his abilities and upright un- 
deviating conduct, gained the confidence of his fellow citizens so that 
he has been President of the State Bank, in Albany, a Judge of the 
County Court, and a Senator in the Legislature, and is now in nomina- 
tion as a candidate for that important office. He married Miss Mar- 
garet Volkenberg, who died without issue. But he has adopted his 
niece, Margaret, daughter of John Vernor, Esquire, who is now married 
to Doctor Charles D. Cooper, who now lives with him. 

William Parks, who was related to my grandmothers Jane and Bar- 
bara, married Janet Beatty, by whom he had two children, Arthur and 
Margaret. Arthur is now living at Ward's Bridge, on the Wallkill. 
He is a man of good natured abilities, which he greatly improved by 
leading, of which he was always very fond. He was elected a member 
of the State Legislature, at a very early period of the war, and was suc- 
cessively reelected for several years, and was a very valuable member. 

He married Miss Howell, daughter of Hezekiah Howell, of 

Smith's Clove, by whom he has a son Charles, who studied physic and 
attended the medical lectures in New York. His sister Margaret, an 
accomplished woman, was married to Mr. David Bostwick, son of Mr. 
Eostwick, formerly a minister in New York. She is now a widow and 
lemoved to Troy. 

JOSEPH YOUNG. 

New York, Catherine Street, No. 53, April nth, 1807. 



History of The Town of New Windsok. iqq 



COPY OF THE ORIGINAL PATENT OF EAST- 
ERN END OF NEW WINDSOR 



The following is a copy of the Patent which covers much of the 
eastern end of the Town of New Windsor (said never to have been print- 
ed before) : 

ANNE by the Grace of God of Great Brittainc fFrancc and Ireland 
Queen Defender of the fTaith &c To all to whom these presents shall come 
or may concern Sendeth Greeting": 

WHEREAS our Loving Subjects William Sunderland and William 
Chambers by their humble Petition presented to our Trusty and well be- 
loved Richard Ingoldesby Esqr. our Livt. Governor and Comandr in 
Chiefe in and over our Province of New and Territories in America and 
Vice Admirall of ye same &c in Council HAVE Prayed our Grant and 
Confirmation of a Certaine Tract of Land Scituate lying and being on 
'the West side of Hudsons River and in ye County of Ulster beginning at 
a Large White Oak Tree Standing near the River marked with three 
Knotches and a Cross and Runs thence into the Woods North ffifty three 
Degrees West Eighty Chains to a Young black Oak Tree marked as 
aforesaid and thence Runs in the Rear North Seventeen Degrees East to 
Ouassaick Creek and thence by Quassaick Creek and the Line of the 
Widdow Plettle including the said Creek to Hudsons River and by Hud- 
sons River to the place where begunn Containing in the whol one thous- 
and acres be it more or less with all and Singular the Houses Edifices 
and Buildings which now are Erected and Built on the said Tract of 
Land and Premises or on any part thereof & all other Improvements what- 
soever on the same which said Land and premises are bounded North by 
the said W'iddow Plettle and Ouassaick Creek East by Hudsons River 
South by marked Trees and West by the Hill Much Hattoes the which 
Pet'tion wee being willing to Grant KNOW YEE that of our especiill 
Grace Certain knowledge and meer motion we have Given Granted Rati- 
fyed and Confirmed and by these Presents for our selves our Heirs and 
Successors Doe Give Grant Ratifye and Confirn:e unto the sd Williini 
Sunderland and William Chambers all and Singular the said Tract of 
Land above mentioned and all" and Singular the Houses Edifices Build- 
ings and Improvemts thereupon and Hereditaments and Abburtenances 
thereunto belonging within the Bounds and Limitts above in these pres- 



200 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



ents mentioned and Expressed together with all Woods Underwoods 
Trees Timber ffeedings Pastures Meadows Marshes Swamps Ponds 
Pooles Waters Watercourses Rivers Rivoletts Runs and Streams of 
Water fishing fowling hawking hunting Mines & Mineralls Standing 
Growing lying & being or to be used had & Enjoyed within the Bounds 
and Limitts above said and all other Profitts beneffitts Priviledges Liber- 
ties Advantages Hereditaments & Appurtenances wtsover unto the said 
Tract of Land and Premises or any Part or Parcell thereof belonging or 
in any wise Appurtaining and all our Estate Right Title Interest benefitt 
Advantage Claim Demand of in or to the said Tract off Land & premises 
with their Appurtenances or any Part or Parcell thereof and the Rever- 
sion & Reversions Remaindr and Remaindrs Together with ye Yearly 
and other Rents and Proffitts of the prmisses & of every Part & Parcell 
thereof in two Equall Parts to be Divided (Except & allways Reserved 
out of this our prsent Grant unto us our Heirs and Successors all such 
ffirr Trees & Pine Trees of the Diamiter of ffour & twenty Inches att 
twelve Inches from the Ground or Root thereof as shall be fitt for Masts 
ffor our Royal Navy and allso all such other Trees as are or shall be fitt 
to make Plank and Knees for the use of our Navy aforesd only wch now 
are Standing Growing and being & which hereafter shall Stand Grow 
and be in & upon the said Tract of Land & prmisses or any Part or Par- 
cell thereof wth free Liberty and Lycence for any Person or Persons 
whatsoever by us thereunto appointed with workmen Horses Wagons 
Carts & Carriages or without to Enter & Come into and upon the said 
Tract of Land and prmisses hereby Granted or any Part thereof there to 
fell Cut Root up hew Saw Rive have take Cart and Carry away the same 
at his & their Will & Pleasure for ye use aforesd and allso Except and Re- 
served out of this our Present Grant all Gold and Silver Mines TO 
HAVE AND TO HOLD one full Moyety or half Part of the said 
Tract of Land and Premisses with their Appurtenances hereby Granted 
as aforesd (Except before Excepted) unto ye said William Sunderland 
his Heirs and Assigns forever to the only proper use and behoof e of ye 
said William Sunderland His Heirs and Assignes forever and the other 
full Moyety or half Part thereof unto the said William Chambers his 
Heirs and Assignes forever to tlie only proper use and behoofe of ye 
said William Chambers and his Heirs and Assignes forever to be holden 
of us our Heirs and Successors in ffree and Comon Soccage as of our 
Mannor of East Greenwich in the County of Kent within our Kingdom 
of Great Brittain YEILDING Rendring and Paying therefore Yearly 
and every Year from henceforth unto us our Heirs & Successors att our 
Custome House att New Yorke to our Collector or Receiver Genii there 
for the time being at or upon the Annunciation of our Blessed Virgin 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 201 



Mary (Comonly Called Lady Day) the Rent or Sume of two Shillings 
& Six pence Currant Money of our Province of New York for ever hun- 
dred acres of Land of the before mentioned one thousand Acres of Land 
herein before Granted & Confirmed in Liew & Stead of all other Rents 
Dues Duties Services and Demands wtsoever PROVIDED always & 
these Presents are upon this Condition that they the said W^illiam Sunder- 
land & William Chambers or one of them or some or one of their Heirs 
and Assigns shall and will within ye Space of three Years now next En- 
sueing the Date hereof Settle Clear and make Improvemt of three 
Acres of Land att the Least for every fififty Acres of the said Tract of 
Land and Premisses of one thousand Acres herein before Granted and in 
Default thereof or if the said William Sunderland & William Chambers 
their Heirs or Assignes any or either of them or any other Person or Per- 
sons wtsoever by their Means Consent or Procurement or by the Means 
Consent and Procurement of any or either of them shall Sett onftire and 
burn the \Voods on the said Tract of Land & Premisses hereby Granted 
or on any Part or Parcell thereof to Clear ye same that then & in either 
of these Cases this our Present Grant & every Clause and Article heroin 
Contained shall Cease Determine & be utterly \'oid & of none Effect any 
thing herein Contained to the Contrary hereof in any wise Notwithstand- 
ing and We Doe hereby Will and Grant that these our Letters Pattents 
or ye Record thereof in our Secretary's Office of our said Province of 
New York shall be Good & Effectual in the Law to all Intents Purposes 
Notwithstanding the not true & well reciting or menconing of the prniisses 
or any Part thereof or the Limitts and Bounds thereof or any former 
or other Letters Patents or Grants wtsoever made or Granted or of 
any Part thereof by us or any of our Progenitors unto any Person or 
Persons whatsoever Body Pollitick or Corporate or any Law or other Re- 
straint incertainty of imperfection whatsoever to the Contrary in any ways 
Notwithstanding IN TESTIMONY whereof wee Have Caused these 
our Letters to be made Pattents and the Seal of our said Province of 
New York to our said Letters Pattents to be affixted & the same to be 
Recorded in our Secretarys Office of our said Province WITNESS our 
trusty and well beloved Richard Ingoldesby Esqr our Livt Govr & Com- 
mandr in Chiefe of our said Province of New York & Territories De- 
pending thereon in America and Vice Admirall of ye same &c in Coun- 
cill att our fifort att New York this two and twentyeth Day of Semtembr 
in the Eighth Year of our Reign Annoq Dm 1709. 

GEORGE CLARKE. 

I do hereby Certify the aforegoing to be a true Copy of the 
Original Record, Word the 23d line page 431 written on a 
Razure. And as in said Record Words thereon depending 



202 History of The Town of New Windsor. 



55'th line page 429 & 21st line page 431 obliterated, and 
the letters ear of the word Rear in 2d line of page 430 inter- 
lined instead of an obliteration. COMPARED therewith 
By Me. 

LEWIS A. SCOTT, Secretary. 



STATE OF NEW YORK, 
Office of the Secretary of State 



ss 



I have compared the preceding copy of letters-patent with the record 
thereof in this office, in Book Number 7, of Patents at page 389 and I do 
hereby certify the same to be a correct transcript therefrom, and of the 
whole thereof. 

WITNESS my hand and the Seal of office of the Secretary 
of State, at the City of Albany, the twenty-third day of Sep- 
tember, one thousand nine hundred and three. 

HORACE G. TERMANT, 

Second Deputy Secretary of State. 
(Seal) 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 203 



GENERAL INDEX 



Beaverdam Creek 3-5^-80 

Berea Church 45-91 

Bethlehem Church 91 

Big Swamp 4-5^ 

Biographical Sketches 1 50 

Blooming Grive Turnpike 55-77 

Burial Grounds 99 

Butterhill 14 

Camp Ground 79 

Cannon, manufacture of 53 

Cantonment of 1782-3 79 

Church History 84 

Church of England Mission 84 

Civil List, 1763-1885 161 

Civil Organization 4 

Civil War iC6 

Clinton Homestead 39-76 

Colemantown Creek y^6 

Committee of Safety 56-58-162 

Creeks 3 

Early Settlements 12 

Edmonston House • •, 73 

Ellison House 114 

Fall's House 73-/9 

Ferry to Fishkill 16-26-30-3 1-154 

Forge Hill 51-72-77-80 

Gate's Fleadquarters 78-79 

Genealogical Sketches 150 

Goldsmith Creek 56 

Goodwill Church 44-46-(:o 

Graham's Church 91 

Great Meadow 8 

Hamilton's Tavern y^j 

Hopewell Church ()i 

Hunting Grove ^')-55 

King's Highway /-2 1 -52 

Knox's Headquarters • ^7-/7-^ H 

Lafayette's Headquarters 51-72 

Licenses 10 

Little Britain 7-8-9-10-19-34-35-79-135 

Little Britain Church 95 

Little Britain M. E. Church 98 



204 History of The Town of New Windsor. 

Little Pond 4 

Local Divisions 4 

Location of Town 3 

Methodist Church, first in Orange County 1 16 

Military Organizations 62 

Minute Men 64-120 

Moffat's Academy 10-104 

Montgomery Church 9^ 

Moodna 50 

Moodna Creek 3-50-55 

Aluchattoes Hill 3-7-15-18 

Murderer's Creek 3-4-5-7-13-15-55-72-119 

Neelytown Church 91 

New Windsor and Blooming Grove Turnpike 9-55 

Newburgh and New Windsor Turnpike 8-54 

New Windsor Gazette 3^ 

New Windsor Village 25 

Cemetery 34-94-99 

Early Commerce 28 

Presbyterian Church 34-94 

Patents 12 

Chambers, Wm 12-15 

Colden, Cadwallader 12 

Ellison, Thomas 114 

Evans, John 4-12 

German 5 

Haskell, John 12-17 

Henderson, James 12-21 

Hume, Patrick 12-20-126-129-131 

Ingoldsby, Mary 12-17 

Johnson, Andrew 12-19-35-135 

Johnson, John, Jr 12-20 

Low, (Cornelius) & Co 12-19 

Mcintosh, Peter 12-18 

MacGregorie, Patrick 12-1 18 

Matthews, Vincent 12-17-1 14 

Morris, Lewis 12-21 

Pierce, Vincent 12 

Southerland, Wm 12-15-114 

Van Dam, Richard 12-20 

Perry's Hill 46 

Physiolo"-^' 3 

Pioneer Era 12 

Pioneer Eamilies 12 

Pledge of Association 57 

Plum Point 1 2- 1 5 -72-79- 1 19 

Population 4 

Post Hill 17-119 

Postmasters 11 

Post Offices II 

Quassaick Creek 3-5-15-16-21-32-52-55-56 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 205 

Quassaick Valley 52 

Ragville 55 

Revolutionary Incidents 66 

Revolutionary Localities 70 

Roads in Town 7 

Rock Tavern 3-18-43-49-55 

Schools 9 

Silver Stream 3-4-56-80 

Slaves 6-22- 113 

Sloop Hill 50 

Snake Hill 3-7 

Snake Hill Turnpike 9-55-83 

St. Thomas' Church 89 

Supi)ort of Poor 10 

Temple, The 81 

Temple Hill 81 

Town Records 6 

Vail's Gate 55 

Vail's Gate Church 96 

Wallkill Church 90 

Washington, attempted abduction of 70 

Washington's Headquarters 34-/0 

Washington Lake 4 

Washington Square T^y 

Woodlawn Cemetery 99-1 36 

The APPENDIX (p.177) includes : 

"Journal of the Voyage of Charles Clinton from Ireland to 
America, 1729." 

" A Genealogical and Biographical Sketch written by Joseph 
Young in 1807, at the request of his niece, Barbara HartcU." 

" Copy of the Patent covering much of the eastern end of the 
Town of New Windsor," Dated Sept. 22, i/Og. 



206 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



INDIVIDUAL INDEX 



This individual index covers tlie first liundred pages of the vi^ork. Pages 100 
to 160 cover biographical and genealogical records and are referred to in this 
index only by name of the family or earliest progenitor. Pages 161-165 cover 
the Civil List. Pages 166-175 record those citizens who participated in the 
Civil War, and contributors to the fund to promote enlistments. 



Abbott, Benjamin 97 

Abercrombie 49 

Adams, Dr 73 

Adams, William 9 

Adams & Bishop 54 

Alexander, Harvey 98 

Alsop, John 16, 18, 25, 28,84 154 

Anderson, John 33 

Andrews, Luman 98 

Annan, Robert 68, 95, 96 

Armstrong, Abner 52 

Armstrong, Major 76 

Arthur, John 50 

Arthur, Samuel 7, 50 60, 87 

Atwater, David J 93 

Atwater, Jabish 97 

Ayres, Enos 9J 

Bailey, Jonathan 89 

Baird, (Alexander & Co.) 5 

Bamper, Lodwick 27 

Bangs, Herman 98 

Barber, Col 76 

Barber, Nancy 43 

Barber, Patrick 43 

Barclay, Robert 64 

Darker, John 52 

Barlow, Joel 83 

Bartley, William H 33 

Barton, Gilbert 87 

Barton, John 87 

Bayard, Sammel & Co 26, 27 

Beach, Isaac C 94 

Beardsley, Austin 59' 

Beattie, Alex 56, 60 

Beattie, Robert H 93 

Beatty, Arthur 62 

Beatty, Charles 62 

Beatty, Joseph 59 



Beatty, William 60 

Beatty, Archibald 62 

Bedlow, William 66 

Beede, William H 53 

Belden, Henry 94 

Belknap, Abel 93 

Belknap, Benjamin 20 

Belknap, John 63, 65' 

Belknap, Isaac 60, 93 

Belknap, Joseph 7, 60 

Bell, Matthew 59 

Benedict, Joel T 93 

Benjamin, James 97" 

Best, David 9T 

Betts, Bieverly Robinson 90 

Biddle, Col 78 

Biglow, Noah 98 

Birch, Harney 70 

Birdsall, Zebulon 92 

Blair, John 91 

Blake, William 98' 

Bloomer, William 98 

Bogardus, Peter 33 

Booth, Charles 93 

Borden, Daniel 9, 30 

Boyd, Robert, Jr., 16, 18, 26, 52, 53, 57, 

58, 60 

Boyd, Robert H 90 

Boyd Samuel 52, 59 

Brewster, Dyer 30 

Brewster, Henry .-. . . ^ . . ; 26 

Brewster, Samuel, 18, 26, 51, 57, 58, 59, 
60, 73, 83, 87, 93, 94 

Brewster, Samuel, Jr 87 

Brewster, Timothy 73, 157 

Brooks, Jonathan, Jr 9 

Brooks, Philip 12, 14 

Brown, Dr 89 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



207 



Brown, George 64 

Brown, J 98 

Brown, John 86, 90 

Brown, Jonathan 29 

Brown, William 16 

Bruser, N 98 

Bruyn, James 94 

Buchanan, Adam G 99 

Buchanan, Betsey 43 

Buchanan, Robert 42 

Buchanan, Susan 40 

Buchanan, William 5? 

Buck, Daniel 9T 

Bull, Mitchell E 97 

Bull, William 17 

Burchard, Nathaniel 92 

Burgoyne, Gen 74 

Burnam, Benjamin 59 

Burnet, Eleazer 94 

Burnet, John 59 

Burnet, Joseph B 35 

Burnet, Robert ..19, 20, 36, 43, 62, 69, 

92, 95 

Burnet, Robert, Jr 59 

Burnet Family 102 

Bushnell, Samuel 97 

Byrn, Charles 5.9 

Byrnes, Caleb 53 

Byrnes, Daniel 53 

Byrnes, Deviah 53 

Byron, Patrick 20 

Caddan, Arthur 6(J 

Caldwell, James 68' 

Campbell, Capt 74 

Campbell, Robert 59 

Candee. Isaac 97 

Canfield, Ezekiel 98 

Cantine, Moses 64 

Carmichael, John 64 

Carpenter, Benjamin 52 

Carpenter, Daniel 32 

Carpenter, Elijah 92 

Carpenter, James 9 

Carpenter, Joseph 30 

Carpenter, Lewis 3(J 

Carscadden, Robert 19 

Carson, D. & Co 52 

Case, Benjamin 87, 93 

Celley, John 87 

Chalker 92, 93" 

Chambers, A. Gaasheck 62, 84 

Chambers, John 22, 26, 45 

Chambers, William . .12, 15, 16, 17. 150 

Champion, Job H 98 



Chandler, Enos 92 

Cliandler, John 9 

Chandler, Joseph 92 

Charlton, Richard 84 

Chastellux, Marquis de 80 

Christie, Thomas lb 

Clark, David 59 

Clark, Jerk 87, 93 

Clark, Reuben 87, 93 

Clemence, Daniel 59, 92 

Clinton, Alexander 69 

Clinton, Charles 8, 19, 22, 25, b4, 36, 

39, 62, 76, 92 

Clinton, Dewitt 34. 76 

Clinton, George.. 7, 10, 16, Jb, 37, 38, 

53, 57, l.:2, 66, 67, 73, 75. 70. >,2. 87. 

f»3. 

Cliiton, Sir 1-enry .... 74 

Clirion, James. .7, 10, 2"), 1:6, 31, 08, 30, 

40, 57, 5?: 63, 65, 1?,, 73, 77, 79, 87 

Ol.iMon Family 133 

Close, John 60. 93 

Cochrane, John 73 

Colden, Cadwallader. .5, 12, 20, 61, 63, 

78, 79. 

Colden, Maria 78, 79 

Coleman, George 58, 59, 64 

Coleman, J 97 

Coleman, James 97 

Coleman, John 59 

Coles, George 98 

Collard, Thomas 97 

Coomber, Almond 98 

Conger, Joshua 38 

Conhan. Robert 59 

Cook, John 58 

Cook, Thomas 21, 58 

Cooper, Mrs. Rachel 67 

Corwin, Theophilies 7, 26 

Covell, James 98 

Craig. John 53 

Crane, Moses 97 

Crawford, Andrew 7, 18. 95 

Crawford, David 7, 60 

Crawford, Francis 9, 21 

Crawford, .Tames 60 

Crawford, John 18 

Crawford, William 59 

Crawshaw, George 52 

Cressy, R. H 90 

Crist. Matthew 49" 

Cross, Robert 20 

Cross, William 41 

Crudge, John 59 



208 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Cumins, Asa 9V 

Cunningham, John 59 

Ctirtis, Caleb 62 

Curwin, Theophilies 87 

Daniels, George 98 

Dankins, John 64 

Davis, John 18, 58 

Davis, Matthew 62 

Dean, Artemas 93 

Decker, Johannes 9 

Denniston, Alexander. .7, 19, 21, 36, 92, 
Denniston, George. .7, 20, 39, 60, 63, 65, 

92. 

Denniston, James 7, 20, 58, 92 

Denniston, John 9, 92 

Denniston, William 21, 92 

Denniston Family 107 

Denton, Isaac 64 

Denton, James 33 

DeWint, John Peter 33 

DeWitt, Mary 34, 38 

De Wolf, Henry 98 

Dickson, Andrew 58 

Dickson, J. M 9i 

Dill, Caleb 59 

Dill, David 9 

Dill, John 9, 59 

Dillon, Robert 97 

Docksey, James 59 

Dongan, Governor 13, 14 

Drake, Joseph 87 

DuBois, Mrs. Ann 57 

DuEois, Lewis 65, 66, 89 

DuBois, Matthew, Jr., 29, 32, 58, 64 

DuBois, Nathaniel 9, 92 

DuBois, Zachariah 92 

Dunlap, James 26, 59 

Dusinberry, Samuel 97 

Dusinberry, Sylvanus 87 

Earnest, Mathias 27 

Eastis, Dr 73 

Edgerton, Richard 31 

Edraonston, David 21 

Edmonston, James 17, 22, 62 

Edmonston, William 67, 87, 92 

Edwards, James 98 

Edwards, Thomas 98 

Epbert, Jacob 97 

Elliott, Thomas 59 

Ellison, .John. .16, 28, 55, 77, 79, 80, 84, 

87, 92. 96 

Ellison, Robert R 79 

Ellison Thomas.. 6, 17, 22, 23, 29, 32, 

34, 61, 62, 63, 70, 77, 86, 87, 89. 



Ellison, William) 67, 70, 87 89 

Ellison Family 112 

Emory Nathan 98 

Esray, George C 98 

Ettrick, Col 70 

Evans, Catherine 13 

Evans, John 4, 12, 14 

Everett, Daniel 25 

Falls, Mrs 73 

Falls, Alex 20, 62 

Falls, Edward 63 

Falls, Samuel 20, 64 

Falls Family 131 

Fancher, Judge 80 

Faulkner, James 59 

Ferguson, Wm. W 98 

Ferris, Ira 98 

Fields, A. C 98 

Finley, John i04 

Finnegan, John 97 

Ford, Henry 93 

Foster, Elnathan 93 

Fowler, Gilbert Ogden 89 

Fowler, Moses 7 

Fowler, Samuel 97 

Freeman, Jonathan 93, 94 

Fulton, Alexander 59 

Fulton, Thomas 9 

Fulton, William 59 

Furshay, Dennis 59 

Gage, James 59 

Gage, William 58 

Gale, John Jr. 9, 17 

Gale, Joseph 17 

Gallatian, David 21 

Galloway, John 7" 

iGamble, James 62 

Gamble, John 62 

Garrison, Nathaniel 58 

Gates, Gen 73, 78, 79, 80 

Gemibell, James 20 

Getty, Jamies 35 

Gibb, C 72 

Gibson, David 98 

Gilbert, Raphael 98 

Gillespie, D. D 98 

Gillespy, John 29 

Given, Samuel 59 

Goldsmith, Richard 9, 92 

Gallow, Christopher 87" 

Gallow, John 87* 

Gorse, Charles 98 

Gourley, Thomas 41 

Gren, Gen 78 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



209 



Gren, James 89 

Gray, John 38, 54, 77 

Green, Robert 97 

Greer, James 59 

Greggs, James 65 

Griffiin, Benjamin 98 

Grigg, Robert 92 

Grigg, William 92 

Gunswort, Peter 65 

Haigh, Edward 53, 54 

Hale, Elisha 53, 54 

Hall, Jacob 98 

Hall, John .' 11 

Halliday, David 87, 93 

Hamilton 71 

Hamilton, Mrs. Alex 78 

Hamilton, Mrs. Sarah 77 

Hanna, John 64 

Hardenburgh, Jacobus 62 

Harlow, Judah 7, 26, 87, 93 

Harris, George 59 

Harrison, Daniel 92 

Harrison, Francis 6 

Hart, John 73 

Kartell, Christian 22, 26, 27 

Hasbrouck, Isaac 9 

Hasbrcuck, Jonathan 9, 93 

Haskell, Henry 18 

Haskell, John 12, 17 

Hathorn, John 67 

Havemeyer, Charles H 54 

Hazzard, Nathaniel 17, 50 

Hazzard, Jonah 62 

Hazzard, Samuel 17, 50 

Heath, Maj.-Gen 79, 81, 82 

Hedges, Jonathan 9 

Henderson, James 12 

Henry, Robert 64 

Herron, James 97 

Hiffernan, John 59 

Higby, Moses 74. 93 

Hoffman, Joseph 31 

Holladay, Wm 93 

Holliday, David 26 

Holmes, Daniel 97 

Holmes, David 98 

Homan, Benjamin 8V 

Horman, Benjamin 58 

Horton, Joseph 50 

Houston, Joseph 91 

Houston, Joseph 1 46 

Houston, Robert 64 

Howell, Hezekiah 8, 9, 25, 26 

Howell, Joseph H 35 



Howell, William 64 

Hubbard, J. B 93 

Huddy, Charles 12, 14 

Hull, D. C 98 

Hume, Patrick 5, i2, 20 

Humphrey, David 62, 89 

Humphrey, George 64 

Humphrey, Hugh 60 

Humphrey, James 7, 58, 62, 63, 64 

Humphrey, John 19, 20, 49, 62, 100 

Humphrey, John, Jr 5, 62 

Humphrey, Oliver 58 

Humphrey, William 64 

Humphries, Humphrey 98 

Hunt, J 98 

Ingoldsby, George 17 

Ingoldsby, Mary 12, 17 

Jackson, James, Jr 22, 59, 87, 95 

Jackson, Michael 25 

Jackson, Thomas 87 

Jackson, William 29, 87 

Jacob, Stephen 98 

Jarrett, Allan 19 

Jansen, Catherine 79 

Jansen, Johannes 63 

Jewett, Wm 97, 98 

Jansen, Sally 78, 79 

John, Peter 58 

Johnes, Timothy 94 

Johnson, Andrew 12, 35 

Johnson, John 12, 18, 60, 87, 94 

Johnson, William 24 

Johnston, Andrew 19, 95 

Johnston, Jetter 97 

Johnston, Robert 59 

Jones, Bridget IS 

Jones, Cane 85 

Jones, Evan 8, 18, 25, 26 

Jones, John 62 

Jones, Thomas 8, 18 

Kane, Hezekiah 64 

Keith, William 97 

Kekham, Samuel 92 

Kekham, Wm. E 98 

Keled, E., Sr 20 

Keline, John 98 

Kernahan, Alexander 58 

Kernaghan, Charles 59 

Kernaghan, James 63, 92 

Kernochans 95 

Kerr, John 43, 49 

Ketcham, Samuel 92 

Kilbona, Henry 87 

Kilpatrick, W 84 



2IO 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Kimbark, Isaac 64 

King, Andrew 44, 91 

King, Hector 45 

King, Samuel W 98 

King, Stephen 59 

King, Thomas 7,9, 20 

Kleck, Johannah 87 

Kline, James 98 

Knap, Jarvis 35 

Knox, Gen. 78 

Knox, Mrs 78, 79 

La Fayette, Marquis de 71, 72 

Lamb, John 65, 66 

Lamb, Samuel 58 

Lawrence, Jane 13 

Lawrence, Jonathan 31, 68 

Lawrence, Mrs. Jonathan 68 

Lawrence, Wm 7, 94 

Leonard, Eliphalet 60 

Leonard, Hone and Nicoll 51 

•Leonard, William B 50 

Lewis, John N 93 

Lewis, Isaac 93 

Liscomb, Nathaniel 59, 87 

Lithgow, Hannah 20 

Lithgow, James 20 

Little, John ill 

Livingston, James 15 

Lockwood, Ichabod 29 

Lockwood, Samuel 9 

Logan, Samuel M 29, 30, 57, 58, 65 

87, 93. 

Longking, Joseph 54 

Lossing 81 

Low, Oornelius 5, 12, 19 

Low, Isaac 57 

Lowell, Joseph 97 

Ludlow, Charles 16, 54, 73, 89 

Lyal, Edward 60 

Lyon, Gilbert 98 

Lyon, Matthew C 31 

Lyon, Zalman 98 

McArthur, Neil 18 

McAuley, John 8 

MoBride, Francis 64 

McCamriel, Patrick 87 

McCartney, David 98 

McClaughrey, James 7, 20, 22, 57, 

58, 60, 63, 64. 

McClaughrey, Mary 19 

McClaughrey, Patrick. .7, 20, 62, 95, 96 

McClaughrey Family 126 

McClean, Cor'us 62 



McClelland, Thomas 41 

McCombs, Lawrence 97 

McDavid, Andrew 62 

McDool, (McDowell) Matthew.. 95, 96, 

99. 

McDove, (McDowell) Andrew .... 19 

McDowell, James 59 

McDowell, Matthew 58 

McDowell, Thomas 56, 60 

McDowell, William 42 

McGill, William L 81 

McGraw, Hon. Edward 37 

McGraw, Thomas 41 

Mcintosh, Phineas 84 

Mcintosh, Susan 19 

McKnight, Patrick 5 

McMichael, John 19 

McMichael, Walter 59 

McMikhill, Joseph 62 

McMullen, William 64 

McNeal, John 90 

McNeeley, Henry, Jr 59, 60 

McNeeley, Janet 42, 49 

MacGregorie, Patrick 12 

MacGregorie, Patrick, Jr 14 

Macintosh, Phineas 5, 12, 18 

Mackin, Mr ' 85 

MacNeeley, David 49 

MacNeeley, Margaret 49 

Main, Daniel 10 

Mains, Francis . ._ 59 

Maley, John 68 

Mallard, Betsey 19 

Mandeville, David 17, 60, 65, 87 

Mandeville, Francis 7, 63, 87, 93 

Manney, John 64 

Marshall, Alexander 54 

Martin, James 41 

Marvin, David 25 

Maskrig, Daniel 13 

Matthews 92 

Matthews, Fletcher 5 

Matthews, O. P 98 

Matthews, Peter 15, 84, 151 

Matthews, Vincent 8, 12, 17, 25, 26, 

32, 87. 

Mavings, George 59 

Mickle, Andrew H 51 

Micklan, John W 59 

Miller, Christopher B 54 

Miller, Edward 40, 42, 59 

Miller, Elizabeth 41 

Miller, James 59, 64 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



2 I I 



Miller, William 19, 58, 59, 98 

Mills, Daniel 58 

Mills, Jacob 58 

Mills, John 59 

Mills, Timothy 59 

Milspaugh, Philip 64 

Moffat, John 10, 21, 22, 55, 91 

Moffat, Isaac 20 

Moffat, Samuel 30, 92 

Moffat, William 60. 92 

Monell, George 8 

Moores, Samuel B 76 

Morgan 67 

Morgan, John 90 

Morrell, Jacob 51 

Morrell, Jonathan 51 

Morrell, Joseph 9, 29, 30, 89 

Morris, Lewis 12 

Morrison, Hamilton 11 

Morrison, John 44, 59, 60 

Morrison, Robert 56 

Morrison, William 44 

Mulender, William 60 

Miillinder, Frank 40 

Mullinder, Peter. .19, 35, 36, 62, 84, 100 

Mulliner, William 7, 9, 20 

Murphey, John 59 

Neelly, Henryman 20, 64 

Neelly, James 20, 62 

Nelson, John 26 

Newkirk, Jacob 63 

Newman, Scudder 58 

Newman, Thomas 98 

Newsome, Robert 87 

Nicholas, John 20 

Nichols, Jarvis Z 98 

Nichols, William 60 

Nicholson, Charles 59 

Nicholson, John 57, 58, 65, 92 

Niclos, William 60 

Nicoll, Francis 22 

Nicoll, John V, x.. 17, 62 

Nicoll, John D 9, 57, 58, 60, 63, 87, 

91, 93. 

Nicoll, Leonard D 60, 64. 87, 92. 93 

Nicoll Family 118 

Oakley. Isaac K 54 

Oliver, David 62 

Oliver, James M 59 

Palmer. Aaron F 54 

Palmer, Charles 11, 49 

Palmer, James 49 

Palmer, Mornas 65 



Park, Jonah 58 

IPark, William 59 

Parker, George 52 

Parshall, Jonathan 59 

Peet, Stephen 87 

Peet, William 29 

Peppard. F'rancis 93 

Perry, James 59 

Peters. James 87 

Pett. Gilbert 87 

Petty. Edward 60 

Phillips. Moses 63 

Pierce, Vincent 12 

Pinhorn, Mary 12 

'PoHoy. Hugh 59 

Post. Peter 17 

Powell. Wm 86 

Prince, N. S 94 

Ramsdell, Homer 54 

Rapelye, Stephen 46 

Reeve, Selah 9 

Reid, George 52, 54 

Reid. John 19. 36, 62, 101 

Reynolds, John 98 

Reynolds, Reuben 29 

Rice, John R 98 

Rice, Nathan 98 

Rice, Phineas 98 

Richards, Paul 26 

Riley, Reuben 90 

Roberson, Henry 58 

Roberts, Gilbert 92 

Robertson, John 97 

Robinson. Andrew 59 

Robinson, John 65 

Robinson, William 60 

Rae. William 93 

Roel & Storm 51 

Romer, James H 98 

Sackett, John x- 25 

Sackett. Joseph 8, 22. 28, 154 

Sackett. Joseph. Jr 16, 25, 26, 32 

Sackett, Samuel 50, 92, 93 

Sands, Nathaniel 50, 51 

Sanford, Hawley 98 

Sargent. Nathan 59 

Sayre. John 85, 86 

Sayre, John, Jr 87 

Sayre. Nathan 30 

Sayre. Nathan H.. Jr 90 

Sayre, Thomas 29, 88 

Schoeld, John 65 

Schultz. Abraham 9. 11. 29. 30 



212 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



Schultz, Isaac 9, 16, 29, 53, 68, 87 

Schultz, Isaac & Son 31 

Schultz, Jacob 31, 53 

Schuyler, Brant .49, 20, 25, 26 

Schuyler, Gen VI 

Schuyler, John 19 

Schuyler, Samuel 19 

Scott, John R 35 

Scott, William 64 

Scrimgeour, James 45, 96 

Scudder, William 29, 31 

Sears, Ethan 64 

Sect, Gilbert 59 

Seely, Ebenezer, Esq 8, 25, 26 

Selleck, John A 98 

Shaw, James 42 

Shaw, Joseph 62 

Shaw, Robert 10 

Shaw, Thomas 19 

Shaws 95 

Sherwood, Andrew 87 

Sherwood, George L 30 

Sherwood, James 94 

Shippen, Dr 93 

Silliman, Cyrus 98 

1 Skinner, John 64 

Slutt, Cornelius 64 

Sly, Chas. H 38 

Sly, Samuel 20, 57, 58, 129 

Sly, William 42 

Smith, Bella 98 

Smith, Friend W 98 

Smith, James 59 

Smith, John 59 

Smith, John G 98 

Smith, Joseph 87, 93 

Smith, Leonard 87 

Smith, Nathan 16, 19, 26, 57, 58, 60, 

159. 

Smith, Obadiah 87 

Smith, Robert 58 

Smith, Soeln 59 

Smith, Thomas.Sr 92 

Smith, Thomas J 96 

Sutherland, David, Sr 87 

Sutherland, William 12, 151 

Spierin, George H 85 

St. Clair, Gen 73 

Stenson, William 58, 64 

Stephens, Jonathan 97 

Steuben, Baron 76 

Stewart, Alex 20 

Stewart, Luarter, 98 



Stewart, Robert 58 

Stickney, James 63 

Still, Henry 97 

Stingham, James 62 

StoUard, Elizabeth 18 

Stonehouse, Isaac 59, 87 

Storms, William 97 

Strachan, James 41, 48 

Stratton, Thomas 97, 98 

Stringham, Daniel 8 

Strong 92 

Strong, Sylvester 98 

Sutherland, Joseph 91 

Sutherland, William 15, 91 

Sutten, David 87 

Sutten, James 87 

Swafford, Thomas 59 

Swain, Matthias 9T 

Sweezy, Joseph 18, 59 

Sypher, Christopher 64 

Tarball, William 81, 82 

Taylor 74 

Taylor, Alex 59 

Taylor, James 59 

Taylor, Joshua 97 

Taylor, William 9 

Telford, Alexander 58 

Telford, William 20, 58 

Temple, Richard 90 

Thomas, James H 94 

Thomas, Noble W 98 

Thompson, David 59, 64 

Thompson, Ezra P 18 

Thompson, James 19 

Thompson, Robert 59 

Thompson, Thomas A 9 

Thompson, William A 9 

Thorn, Samuel 87 

Thorne, James 50 

Thorne, John 50 

Tibaut, Cornelius 89 

Tilghman 71, 80 

Tompkins, John A 54 

Toshack, David 13, 14 

Towsend, Dr 73 

Townsend, James P 52 

Townsend, Peter 53 

Trimble, Alexander 63 

Trimble, Richard 9 

Turner, David B 98 

Turner, Hugh 60 

Tuthill, James 26 

Tuthill, N. S 98 



History of The Town of New Windsor. 



213 



Umphrey, George 58 

Umphrey, James 58 

Umphrey, Johu 58 

Van Ars dell, John 64 

Vanaurdal, John 50 

Vance, John 19 

Van Dam, Richard 12, 20 

Van Deursen, Abraham 31 

Van Duzer, Christopher 92 

Van Duzer, Henry 92 

Van Duzer, Isaac 92 

Van Duzer, Shadrack 92 

Van Dyck, Bolton 64 

Van Home, Cornelius 15 

Van Home, Frederick 85 

Vail, John D 11 

Verplanck, Philip A 15, 53 

Vesey, Rev. Mr 6 

Vinegar, Gradus 64 

Wadsworth, Col 78 

Waldron, John 15 

Wall, Jacob 98 

Wallace, R. Howard 96 

Wallace, Robert H 96 

Walsh, Hugh 8, 16, 53 

Walsh, J. DeWitt 53 

Walsh, John H 16, 53, 54 

Walsh, Samuel A 54 

Walsh, William 29 

Wandel, John 21 

Wandell, Jacob .^. 30 

Ward, William ;.. . 31 

Washburn, J. C 98 

Washington 70, 71, 72, 80 

Waters, John H 52 

Waterson, Hugh 59 

Watkins, Hezekiah 85, 88 

Waugh, John 59, 96 

Webb, Nathaniel 75 

Weed, Wm. R 98 

Weeks, Smith 97 

Weller, Hiram 9 

Welling, George 35 

Welling, John Ill 

Welling, Peter 21, 60 



Welling, William 60 

Wells, Albert 64 

Wells, Sarah 22 

Westlake, Benjamin 97 

Whigham, Robert 59 

White, Jonathan 59 

White, Nicholas 98 

White, Silas 87 

White, Sylvester 92 

White, Timothy 59 

Whitmore, Samuel 87 

Wileman, Henry 84 

William, Caleb 51 

Williams, Jonas 9, 51 

Williams, Thomas 51 

Williams, William 87, 93 

Wilson, Andrew 64 

Wilson, John 10 

Wiltsie, Martin 32, 34 

Wimble, Richard 53, 54 

Wingham, Hiram 98 

Winter, Hezekiah 64 

Wood, Cornelius 76 

Wood, Daniel 93 

Wood, James 64 

Wood, Joseph 87, 93, 94 

Wood, Richard 59, 63 

Wood, Samuel 20, 48, 58 

Wood, Silas 59, 63 

Wood, Thurston 9 

Woodhall, Jesse 21 

Woodward, Samuel 59 

Wood, Ellas 64 

Woolsey, Elijah 97 

Woolsey, Stephen 44 

Woolsey, Thomas 97 

Wyatt, Christopher D 90 

Wyncoop, Gitty 78 

Yelverton, John 8, 26, 94 

Young, James 59, 62 

Young, John 19, 36, 62 

Young, (John) Family 123 

Young, Joseph 9 

Young, William 20 



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